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REV.  WM.  WILKINSON. 


MEMORIALS 


OF  THE 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES 


IN  THE  YEAR  1894 

WITH 

A  CHAPTER  ON  THE  FOREST  FIRES  IN  WISCONSIN 

IN  THE  SAME  YEAR 

By 

REV.  WILLIAM  WILKINSON 


Rector  of  St.  Andrews  Church,  Minneapolis,  and  Former  Chaplain  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  Minnesota. 


PUBLISHED  BY 

NORMAN  E.  WILKINSON, 

1325  Girard  Ave.  No. 

MINNEAPOLIS 

1895 

Crown-Litho  Publishing  Co  Copyright.     All  Rights  Reserved. 


PREFACE. 

The  question  with  which  a  man  has  to  do,  who  writes  me- 
morials of  events,  which  are  worthy  to  be  had  in  remembrance,  is  one 
of  accuracy  what  really  took  place;  when,  where,  how  and  what  were 
the  results. 

To  depart  from  what  is  the  strict  truth  is  to  do  violence  to  history, 
to  invent,  not  narrate  events,  and  the  writer  who  descends  to  it  finds 
to  his  cost  that  "Fiction  entices  and  deceives,  and  sprinkled  o'er 
her  fragrant  leaves,  lies  poisonous  dew." 

It  is  my  aim  in  these  memorials  to  set  in  order  the  suffering  noblj 
endured,  the  great  losses  sustained,  and  the  prompt  and  generous 
help  given  so  freely  by  men  in  every  walk  of  life,  professors  of  all 
religions  and  of  none,  saint  and  sinner,  rich  and  poor  alike.  In  the 
doing  of  this,  it  is  my  hope  to  further  the  ends  of  Christian  charity, 
and  the  mutual  regard  man  owes  to  his  fellow  man  as  being  member? 
of  one  common  family,  the  children  of  one  loving  Father.  In  all 
historic  time  the  heoric  men  who  have  added  glory  to  their  age,  have 
been  held  in  high  esteem;  for  them  anthems  have  been  sung,  monu- 
ments raised,  processions  and  gala  days  arranged;  the  sweetest  poets 
have  sung  their  fame,  and  the  loftiest  prose  has  told  their  praise; 
all  this  has  not  been,  it  is  not  now,  for  sentimental  purposes;  it  ha? 
a  firm  foundation,  and  serves  a  far  reaching  and  useful  purpose.  I' 
is  by  the  recital  of  daring  and  unselfish  deeds  that  high  ideals  art1 
kept  before  the  public  mind,  that  youth,  in  its  ardor,  in  its  desire 
of  achievement,  may  rise  to  the  opportunities  presented  in  all  thei; 
moral  splendor,  and  thus  renew  the  valor,  and  conquests  their  father? 
won.  It  is  one  of  the  very  first  principles  which  conies  into  opera- 
tion in  the  assimilation  of  ideas,  that  men  grow  like  the  patterns 
they  set  before  themselves.  All  the  great  writers  on  morals  have 
pointed  this  out ;  every  page-  in  books  like  Mr.  Lecky's  History  of 
European  Morals,  proves  its  truth,  and  never  failing  incidents. 
Whatever  ideals  men  have  had  they  have  sought  some  personifi- 


1128119 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


GOVIRNOR  KNUTE  NELSON. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

MEMORIALS  OP  MIXXESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

"O  LORD,   ho\v  manifold  are  thv  works!      In  wisdom  hast  thou  made 
them  all  ;    the  earth  is  full  of  thv  riches." — KING  DAVID. 

"The  heavens  are  the  Lord's,  the  earth  with  all  things  therein  and 
thereon,  hath  he  given  to  the  children  of  men.  Everything  in  its 
proper  place  is  good.  Nature  and  natural  law  know  no  mistakes. 
Nothing  exists  but  for  wise  purposes.  It  is  man's  duty  to  find 
what  those  purposes  are,  and  then  obtain  all  the  good  he  can  from 
them.  The  ancient  seer  probably  wrote  much  better  than  he  knew, 
when  he  said  of  trees,  "Their  fruit  shall  be  for  meat,  and  their  leaves 
for  medicine."  In  malarial  countries,  this  has  been  proved  true. 

Since  the  time  Adam  and  his  wife  were  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  trees, 
woods  and  forests  have  been  objects  of  study,  admiration  and  known 
usefulness.  It  is,  however,  doubtful  whethe  •  even  our  wisest  and 
most  cultivated  men  know  the  most  important  things  about  them. 
Many  questions  are  engaging  the  closest  attention  of  our  most  alert 
thinkers,  careful  watch  is  being  kept,  notes  taken  and  comparisons 
made  in  different  lands  respecting  the  influence  of  trees  on  climate, 
how  they  grow,  and  what  all  the  purposes  they  serve  in  the  economy 
of  nature  are.  It  appears  certain  that  historic  man  lived  in  the 
midst  of  trees,  amongst  them  he  said  prayers  to  his  gods,  offered 
burnt  sacrifices,  from  them  he  cut  wood  to  make  his  bows  and  ar- 
rows, so  they  helped  him  in  killing  wild  animals,  and  from  them, 
ever  since  fire  was  known  to  savage  man,  he  has  taken  fuel  on  which 
to  cook  his  food.  It  was  in  the  secluded  shelter  of  the  trees  he 
found  a  hiding  place  from  his  enemy,  and  a  refuge  from  the  keen 
storms  of  wind  which  swept  over  the  open  ground  when  all  was 
still  in  the  woods.  It  was  amongst  the  trees,  he  saw  the  birds  and 
heard  them  sing  their  songs  of  love,  which,  no  doubt,  filled  his 
breast  with  delight. 


10  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

It  is  a  delusion  of  self  opinionated  civilized  men,  that  their  rude 
brethren  take  no  pleasure  in  the  refined  aspects  of  life  in  the  woods. 
Long-  before  man  knew  how  to  make  a  microscope  or  a  telescope, 
he  understood  many  mighty  truths,  stern  experience  had  taught  him, 
both  in  joy  and  sorrow  in  the  forest. 

What  had  been  learned  in  a  general  way,  our 
age,  which  demands  exactness  and  clearness  of  state- 
ment, has  sought  the  reason  for  and  placed 
in  words  which,  "He  who  runs  may  read."  Amongst  the  great 
industries  of  the  world  stands  that  of  agriculture,  the  farmer  and 
the  gardener  must  work  that  the  clerk  and  philosopher  may  live. 
The  life  of  the  world,  so  far  as  man  is  concerned,  depends  upon  the 
cultivation  of  the  field.  How  important,  then,  it  is  that  we  all  know 
what  helps  and  what  hinders  the  growth  of  plants.  A  keen  cold  wind 
retards,  often  stops  growth,  and  shade  from  such  wind  increases 
growth.  Experiments  have  shown  that  a  board  fence,  six  feet  high, 
makes  its  presence  for  good  felt  six  rods  away.  What  influence, 
then,  must  the  mighty  trees  of  the  forest  have  in  stopping  strong 
wind  and  in  lifting  it  up  from  the  earth,  and  also  in  preventing  the 
moisture  that  is  in  the  ground  from  being  too  quickly  evaporated 
by  the  hot  winds  of  summer.  Perhaps  they  have  powerful  influ- 
ences, in  such  winds,  upon  the  earth  itself. 

The  earth  as  a  conductor  of  sound  and  of  motion,  is  being  in- 
vestigated now  with  as  much  care  by  the  seismologists  as  the  heavr 
ens  are  by  the  astronomers.  The  things  these  scientific  men  find  out, 
the  lessons  they  learn,  are  not  more  surprising  than  the  instruments 
they  make  with  which  to  record  what  is  taking  place.  Waves  are  known 
to  spread  in  the  ground.  In  a  paper  on  recent  science,  by  P.  Kro- 
potkin,  published  in  the  Century  Magazine,  and  reproduced  in  Lit- 
tell's  Living  Age,  Jan.  ipth,  1895,  he  says:  "By  means  of  a  seismo- 
metrograph  at  the  Collegio  Romona,  in  Rome  Italy,  it  was  pos- 
sible to  observe  the  earthquakes  which  took  place  in  Greece,  India, 
and  in  Turkestan,  and  also  to  see  three  distinct  waves,  coming  from 
I  he  three  distinct  shocks  in  Japan.  These  waves  had  traveled  a 
long  distance  at  a  speed  of  2,750  yards  in  a  second,  and  yet  were 
visible  in  the  tracings  of  the  instrument.  Wonderful  as  this  is,  it 
is  eclipsed  by  a  new  Bifilar  pendulum,  invented  last  year  by  Mr. 
Horace  Darwin.  It  will  measure  the  disturbance  of  the  earth's 
surface,  if  it  is  only  the  one-thousandth  part  of  an  inch  in  a  mile. 
All  this  has  opened  a  new  world  to  scientific  men,  and  they  hope  to 


MIXXESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  11 

foretell  the  conditions  under  which  earthquakes  take  place,  just 
as  they  have  been,  and  are,  able  to  tell  when  an  explosion  in  a  coal 
mine  is  likely  to  come.  It  is  in  the  light  of  instruments  and  facts 
like  these,  and  of  the  knowledge  already  gained,  that  trees  of  the  for- 
est, by  causing  vibrations  in  the  earth  may  serve  purposes,  which  are 
as  yet  unknown.  We  are  only  just  beginning  to  understand  the 
susceptibility  of  the  earth  to  sound  and  to  motion.  Old  theories 
are  being  discarded,  and  the  things  Humboldt,  the  most  learned 
man  of  his  time,  taught  in  Cosmos,  are  now  known  to  be  inaccurate. 
In  the  Royal  Observatory,  at  Greenwich,  it  is  well  known  that  the 
crowds  which  assemble  in  the  town  on  a  holiday,  are  reported  to  the 
astronomers  by  the  levels  they  use  in  their  work,  and  this,  though 
the  crowds  are  far  away.  Whlat  man  knows  today  about  the  ex- 
quisite relations  of  cause  and  effect,  and  of  the  mechanism  of  the 
universe,  is  not  a  speck,  probably,  in  comparison  with  what  he  will 
know. 

In  these  western  states  of  America,  we  are  dependent  upon  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  the  great  lakes,  and  I  think,  also  upon  the  Hudson 
Bay  for  our  rain.  From  these  great  waters  there  is  constantly  much 
evaporation.  The  air  above  them  becomes  wet,  it  is  blown  by  the 
winds  over  our  continent,  and  falls  upon  the  ground  in  fruitful 
showers.  There  are  few  question's  more  curious  than  are  those  con- 
nected with  the  falling  of  rain.  In  some  parts  of  the  world,  it  is 
never  known  to  rain,  in  others  it  rains  nearly  every  day,  in  others 
at  two  seasons  of  the  year.  In  England,  the  largest  rainfall  is  in  the 
fall  and  winter;  in  Minnesota,  we  do  not  look  for  rain  in  winter, 
we  expect  frost  and  snow,  as  the  weather  is  so  cold  there  is  little 
evaporation.  In  the  spring  and  summer,  when  the  weather  is  warm, 
and  as  it  grows  hotter,  we  have  rain  and  more  rain.  Xo  arrange- 
ment could  be  wiser  than  this,  because  of  our  hot  climate.  For  more 
than  fifty  years,  the  average  rainfall  in  the  months  of  June,  July  and 
August  has  been  ten  inches.  It  takes  one  gallon  of  water  to  cover 
two  feet  of  ground  one  inch,  so  that  on  every  two  feet  of  ground, 
ten  gallons  of  rain  falls  in  the  three  summer  months  of  Minnesota. 
Whatever  is  lacking  of  this  tends  to  make  a  drouth.  It  is  not  alone, 
however,  the  quantity  of  rain  which  falls,  but  how  it  falls,  and  what 
are  the  conditions  of  the  earth  upon  which  it  falls,  that  determine  how 
much  of  the  water  remains  for  use.  Trees  retard  the  water  from 
being  taken  too  rapidly  into  the  rivers,  and  so  to  the  sea.  While 
the  tree  is  lifting  its  branches  to  the  sunlight,  it  is  also  sending  its 


]2  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

roots  deep  into  the  earth,  and  the  fibers  of  these,  in  forests, 
become  one  mass  of  intricate  network,  every  part  of  which  is 
a  sponge  and  also  a  hand.  The  wind  rocks  the  trees  on 
the  outer  edges  of  these  forests,  and  loosens  the  soil,  but 
the  storm  which  rocks  the  trees  without  blowing  them  down,  only 
makes  the  roots  take  a  firmer  hold  upon  the  earth,  and  at  the 
same  time  opens  drains  from  the  surface  of  the  ground  so  that 
when  the  next  rain  falls,  it  follows  the  course  of  the  roots  and  thus 
lets  the  water  into  the  earth  a  depth  it  would  not  otherwise  penetrate. 
The  earth  thereby  becomes  full  of  water,  and  the  tree  in  hot  weather, 
long  after  the  surface  of  the  ground  has  ceased  to  give  much  mois- 
ture to  the  sun's  hot  rays,  draws  from  the  supply  of  water  deep 
in  the  earth,  and  thus  evaporation  is,  even  in  the  hottest  days,  con- 
stantly going  on.  There  seems  to  be  no  means  of  testing  exactly 
how  much  evaporation  from  a  single  tree  is  given,  but  that  the 
quantity  is  large,  is  well  known.  Competent  authorities  state  that 
over  six  acres  of  leaf  surface  is  exposed  to  the  heat  of  the  sun  by 
some  trees,  in  one  summer.  Any  man  who  has  tried  to  keep  the 
air  in  his  room  damp,  by  means  of  a  pan  of  water  placed  upon  the 
stove,  tries  to  do  in  a  rude  way  what  the  trees  do  with  great  effective- 
ness in  the  long,  hot  days  of  summer. 

It  is  considerations  like  these,  which  make  forest  fires  and  forest 
destruction  so  terrible.  Those  who  have  not  given  attention  to 
the  subject,  do  not  know  what  is  involved.  All  forest  countries  suf- 
fer by  fires,  and  if  we  do  not  hear  as  much  of  the  disaster,  it  is  be- 
cause, usually  human  life  is  not  lost.  In  New  Brunswick,  in  Octo- 
ber,^ 1825,  a  fire  occurred  which  laid  10,000  square  miles  waste.  The 
Maj.-Gen.  Sir  Howard  Douglas,  Bart,  lieutenant  governor  of  the 
Province,  speaks  of  it  as  follows : 

FREDERICTON,  October  17,  1825. 

For  some  days  previous  to  the  7th  inst,  the  temperature  of  the 
air  and  the  state  of  the  atmosphere,  much  charged  with  smoke,  in- 
dicated that  fires  of  vast  extent  were  raging  in  the  woods,  but  no 
serious  apprehension  seems  to  have  been  entertained  on  account  of 
the  prevalence  of  conflagrations,  which  are  so  commonly  put  in  ac- 
tion to  commence  clearances  in  the  forest. 

On  the  day  I  have  named,  however,  at  about  n  o'clock  in  the  fore- 
noon an  alarm  was  conveyed  to  the  town,  that  the  residence  of  the 
commissioner  of  crown  lands,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  distant  was 
on  fire.  The  garrison,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  population  ran 


MIXXESOTA  FOREST  FfBES.  13 

immediately  thither,  and  succeeded  in  saving-  Mr.  Baillie's  house 
from  the  flames,  which  were  spreading  through  the  adjoining  woods 
with  tremendous  fury. 

\Yhilst  there,  accounts  were  brought  to  me,  that  the  town  was 
on  fire,  and  before  I  could  reach  it,  though  mounted  on  a  fleet 
horse,  the  streets  were  in  a  blaze. 

At  that  time  it  blew  a  gale  of  wind  from  the  northwest,  and  how- 
ever incredible  it  may  have  appeared,  that  the  flames  should 
have  been  communicated  to  the  town  from  the  woods  in  the  vi- 
cinity, the  sequel  of  this  dispatch  will  show,  from  what  has  occurred 
elsewhere,  that  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  such  was  the  case. 

The  fire  raged  with  a  degree  of  fury  which  no  exertions  (and  those 
used  were  very  great)  could  for  a  moment  check,  and  the  whole  pop- 
ulation abandoned  their  houses,  making  what  efforts  they  could  to 
save  their  effects. 

When  the  fire  had  consumed  all  that  part  of  the  town  which  lay 
in  the  direction  of  the  wind,  it  took  a  lateral  course,  threatening 
the  barracks  and  other  buildings,  which,  had  they  taken  fire,  must 
have  led  it  to  the  total  destruction  of  what  has  remained  of  the  town 
of  Fredericton. 

As  evening  advanced  the  woods,  which  had  continued  to  burn 
throughout  the  day,  were  now  distinctly  seen  to  be  everywhere 
burning,  and  vast  clouds  of  smoke,  rising  in  the  distance,  accom- 
panied by  extraordinary  noises,  as  of  furious  explosions  of  flame, 
and  the  fire  reflected  on  the  distant  sky,  portend-ed  other  calamities 
which  I  no\v  report. 

On  the  very  same  day  and  about  the  hour  when  this  place  suffered 
most,  the  town  of  Newcastle,  120  miles  distant,  together  with  all 
the  mercantile  establishments  on  that  bank  of  the  Aliramichi  river, 
and  some  on  the  opposite  side,  were  consumed  by  a  violent  torrent 
of  fire,  which  issued  from  the  woods  in  the  rear  at  about  9  o'clock 
p.  m.  Thus  the  destructive  element  which  was  causing  such  devas- 
tations in  other  parts  of  the  Province,  appears  to  have  been 
driven  thither  by  the  gale  which  was  experienced  here,  but  which 
the  mighty  action  of  such  extensive  and  rapid  conflagration  increased 
as,  it  proceeded,  to  the  most  impetuous  hurricane,  and  the  very  wide 
range  it  has  taken  leads  me  to  fear  that  we  have  much  yet  to  learn 
of  its  dreadful  effects,  when  reports  shall  come  in  from  the  numer- 
ous gangs  of  woodmen  dispersed  in  the  various  parts  of  the  forest. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  flames  and  showers  of  burning  embers 


14  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

poured  upon  Newcastle,  they  reached  the  establishments  similarly 
placed  upon  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  otherc  in  the  rear,  and  in 
fifteen  minutes  all  were  consumed. 

I  wish  I  could  report  that  life  had  been  spared,  but  so  violently 
driven  were  the  flames  and  embers  from  the  blazing  woods,  well 
prepared  for  the  most  active  combustion  by  the  longest  season 
of  heat  and  drought  ever  known,  that  men,  women  and  children  in 
great  numbers  have  perished  in  the  houses  and  in  the  woods,  in  exer- 
tions to  save  property,  or  in  attempts  to  save  life ;  and  when  driven 
in  terror  to  seek  safety  on  the  water,  greater  numbers  still  appear 
to  have  suffered  in  attempts  to  cross  the  rivers  in  boats  or  in  canoes, 
on  rafts  or  on  logs  of  timber,  which  were  alike  incapable  of  resisting 
the  fury  of  the  storm.  Many  vessels  were  at  the  same  time  cast  on 
shore,  several  set  on  fire,  and  three  entirely  consumed  by  the  drift 
of  embers  from  the  land. 

The  fatal  effects  of  the  awful  calamity  cannot  yet  be  estimated. 
Fredericton  has  lost  about  80  habitations  or  stores,  and  property  to 
the  value  of  at  least  $165,000.  On  the  rivers  Orounuctoo  and  Ron- 
derjonish,  tributaries  of  the  St.  John,  several  lives  and  many  habi- 
tations have  been  lost  and  destroyed,  and  some  of  these  ravages  ac- 
companied by  terrific  circumstances.  On  the  Miramichi  river  the 
loss  of  life  cannot,  I  fear,  be  estimated  under  300  souls.  Great 
numbers  of  the  destitute  survivors  had  collected  in  the  village  of 
Chatham  for  relief,  and  as  so  many  of  the  provision  stores  of  the 
merchants  had  been  consumed  (the  settlement  depending  almost 
entirely  upon  imported  food),  severe  apprehensions  were  entertained 
of  approaching  famine.  So  soon  as  I  learned  this,  I  assembled  His 
Majesty's  council  to  consider  what  measures  it  would  be  expedient 
to  adopt,  and  an  agent  has  been  sent  to  Quebec  to  purchase  sup- 
plies and  to  proceed  with  them  to  Miramichi." 

This  fire,  so  frightful  in  its  results,  left,  as  it  appeared,  the  very 
earth  burned,  yet,  my  friends,  Mr.  M.  B.  Turner  and  Mr.  Harvey 
Turner,  of  this  city,  whose  father  lived  in  the  fire  district  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, tells  me  that  in  thirty  years,  such  are  the  reproductive  and  re- 
cuperative forces  at  work  in  nature,  large  areas  of  forest  trees  were 
growing  with  surprising  vigor.  The  Middle,  Western  and  North- 
western states  of  America  have  had  sad  experiences  of  forest  fires, 
but  as  yet  not  much  has  been  learned  in  a  practical  way. 

One  of  the  most  terrible  fires  ever  seen  by  civilized  man  in  the 
forests  of  America,  was  that  at  Peshtigo,  in  Wisconsin,  in  October, 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  15 

1871,  when  millions  of  dollars  \vorth  of  property  were  lost  and  more 
than  seven  hundred  persons  burned  to  death.  All  the  summer  the 
heat  had  been  great,  and  the  rainfall  small.  The  pine  was  thick, 
and  dry  slashings,  dead  timber,  wind  falls,  lay  upon  the  earth,  which 
was  baked  by  the  hot  rays  of  the  sun.  The  pools  had  in  them 
no  water,  the  wells  were  dry,  and  the  streams  very  low.  No  rain 
had  fallen  for  some  time,  the  fires  were  in  the  forests,  and  when  they 
increased  in  volume,  the  hot  air  quickly  ascended,  a  current  was 
caused,  the  wind  rose,  and  the  dire  calamity  followed  which  made 
Peshtigo  prominent  in  the  annals  of  disaster. 

In  1881,  Michigan  was  the  scene  of  terrible  fires,  which  laid  waste 
four  counties  and  killed  125  people.  These  fires,  at  the  time,  were 
said  to  be  the  direct  result  of  atmospheric  conditions.  This  being 
the  case,  the  United  States  Signal  Service  authorities  deemed  it  wise 
and  useful  to  send  Sergeant  Wm.  O.  Bailey,  who  had  charge  of  the 
station  at  Port  Huron,  to  investigate  the  whole  matter. 

This  he  did,  and  in  so  doing  went  over  all  the  burned  district  and 
made  a  map  of  it,  saw  what  the  fire  had  done,  marked  the  course  it  had 
taken,  asked  questions  of  whoever  could  give  him  intelligent  infor- 
mation. All  this  was  done  under  the  instruction  of  Brig,  and  Bvt. 
Maj.  Gen.  W.  B.  Hazen,  whose  report,  published  by  authority  of  the 
secretary  of  war,  has  been  kindly  furnished  me  by  the  present  sec- 
retary of  agriculture.  It  is  in  many  respects  a  model  of  what  such 
documents  ought  to  be.  From  it,  I  learn  that  the  fires  which  did 
the  damage,  began  their  work  of  destruction  Sept.  5th.  There  had 
been  fires  for  a  long  time,  the  newspapers  had  called  attention  to 
their  danger,  little  heed  had  been  paid,  and  no  effort  to  stop  them 
or  get  out  of  their  way  had  been  made  by  the  settlers,  until  it  was 
too  late  for  many,  so  $2,000,000  worth  of  property  went  into  the 
clouds  in  smoke.  For  weeks  before  the  fire,  the  earth  in  many 
places  had  cracked,  the  swamps  were  baked  into  hard  clay,  the  heat 
of  the  sun  was  hotter  than  it  had  'been  in  that  locality  for  years ;  not 
since  the  fires  of  Wisconsin,  in  1871,  had  such  weather  been  known. 
All  was  ready  for  one  terrific  fire.  It  came,  and  history  tells  its  story. 
On  Sept.  5th,  the  wind  was  strong  enough  to  blow  or  break  down 
trees  thirty  feet  high  and  eight  inches  through.  It  has  been  said 
and  it  is  believed  by  Sergeant  Bailey,  that  in  Huron,  some  distance 
from  the  scene  of  the  fires,  the  temperature  was  99  degrees  in  the 
shade  at  7  a.  m.  It  was  a  southeast  wind  which  blew  the  flames  into 
Huron  township.  It  appears  that  the  winds  which  prevail  in  forest 


10  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

fires  generally  come  from  the  southwest.  In  forest  states  it  should 
be  made  a  crime  for  men  recklessly  to  start  fires  in  hot  seasons, 
when  no  man  can  tell  where  they  will  stop.  There  are  many  reasons 
for  this.  Our  forests  are  being  used  up  at  an  alarming  rate.  The 
supply  of  timber  is  limited,  and  as  our  population  is  growing  at  a 
rate  which  has  increased  the  people  five  times  in  about  sixty  years, 
the  demand  for  lumber  is  in  proportion.  The  need  of  care 
and  prudence  in  seeing  that  no  waste  by  fire  takes  place  which  can 
possibly  be  prevented  is  great. 

Wet  and  dry  periods  appear  to  go  in  cycles  covering  34  to  37 
years,  if  we  may  take  the  statements  of  experts  in  countries  where 
weather  reports  have  been  longest  and  most  accurately  kept.  We 
appear,  at  the  present  time,  to  be  in  the  dryer  division.  Why  these 
periods  should  be,  man  with  all  his  wondrous  capacity,  is  not  able 
to  give  a  probable  explanation.  The  earth  and  its  affairs  are  con- 
nected with  other  worlds,  and  larger  knowledge  would  doubtless 
put  us  in  possession  of  facts  needed  to  explain  the  mystery.  The 
great  authorities  on  meteorological  questions  are  of  opinion,  that  the 
day  is  coming  when  scientific  knowledge  aind  discovery  will  en- 
able them  to  foretell  what  the  weather  will  be,  with  all  the  ac- 
curacy with  which  they  can  now  predict  an  eclipse  of  the  moon. 
The  day  of  this  achievement  may  be  distant;  it  is,  however,  a  well 
defined  hope  in  the  minds  of  philosophers.  When  that  day  comes 
the  farmer  will  know  what  next  year's  crops,  under  given  cultiva- 
tion, will  be.  Meanwhile  we  have  to  read  life's  riddle  and  agricul- 
tural and  commercial  duty  in  the  light  of  past  averages,  and  act 
accordingly. 

The  following  statement  has  been  kindly  prepared  for  me  by  my 
friend,  Mr.  E.  K.  Smith,  than  whom  no  man  in  this  state  is  more 
competent.  Its  absolute  accuracy  is  certified  to  by  Mr.  Edward  A. 
Beals,  director  of  the  state  weather  service. 

Speaking  in  general  of  the  drouth  of  1894,  the  editor  of  the 
August,  1894,  Monthly  Weather  Review,  published  by  authority 
of  the  secretary  of  agriculture,  says  that,  "From  an  agricultural 
point  of  view,  a  drouth  is  not  merely  a  deficiency  of  rainfall,  but  a 
deficiency  of  water  available  for  the  use  of  the  growing  crops,  wheth- 
er grass,  grain,  fruit,  or  forest  trees.  As  the  water  supply  stored 
up  in  the  soil  is  often  sufficient  to  tide  the  plant  over  a  long  inter- 
val without  rain,  therefore  the  contents  and  nature  of  the  soil  are 
important  features.  Again,  as  the  dryness  of  the  air,  the  velocity  of 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  17 

the  wind  and  the  temperature,  are  the  principal  factors  in  the  evapor- 
ation of  water  from  the  soil,  as  well  as  from  the  surface  of  the  leaves, 
these  features  must  be  considered.  Thus  a  drouth  affecting  agricul- 
ture is  a  complex  result  of  many  considerations.  The  drouths  that 
afreet  the  water  supply  of  cities,  navigatior  of  rivers,  and  irrigation, 
depend  upon  a  similar  complexity  of  considerations,  among  which 
is  the  direct  influence  of  the  consumption  of  water  by  the  vegeta- 
tion growing  on  the  soil.  Evidently,  therefore,  both  from  an  agri- 
cultural and  engineering  point  of  view,  it  is  impracticable  to  define 
the  intensity  of  a  drouth  in  general  and  exact  terms.  On  the  other 
hand,  from  a  purely  meteorological  point  of  view,  the  term  drouth 
is  usually  considered  as  referring  only  to  the  quantity  and  distribu- 
tion of  rainfall,  omitting  all  consideration  of  the  humidity  of  the 
air,  the  amount  of  cloudiness,  the  strength  of  the  wind,  but  taking 
full  account  of  the  normal  quantity  and  distribution  of  the  rainfall 
for  the  given  locality.  The  great  drouth  of  1894  so  far  as  concerns 
agriculture,  has  been  but  the  culmination  of  a  long  period  of  defi- 
cient rainfall.  The  tables  of  accumulated  precipitation  published 
monthly,  show  that  the  whole  region  in  which  the  crops  have  suf- 
fered during  August,  reports  a  steady  and  generally  an  increasing 
deficiency  in  the  accumulated  rainfall  since  the  first  of  January. 
The  drouth  is,  therefore,  not  merely  the  drouth  of  July  and  August, 
but  that  of  several  months." 

In  the  upper  Mississippi  Valley  the  accumulated  deficiency  of 
rainfall  at  the  close  of  the  year  1893,  was  44  inches.  At  the  end 
of  August,  1894,  the  deficit  had  increased  to  9.5  inches,  or  only  63 
per  cent,  of  the  amount  we  should  have  received.  The  temperature 
showing  an  excess,  above  the  normal,  of  2.7  degrees  since  January 
ist,  and  during  the  month  of  August,  3.1  degrees." 

In  Minnesota  the  longest  rainfall  record  is  one  kept  at  Fort  Snell- 
ing,  beginning  in  July,  1836.  A  few  years  during  the  war,  and  just 
previous  to  that  period,  the  post  was  temporarily  abandoned,  and  no 
record  kept.  By  combining  this  record  with  one  taken  at  St.  Paul 
only  a  few  miles  distant,  it  is  made  practically  continuous  to  date. 
Its  examination  shows,  that  for  this  vicinity,  the  average  yearly, 
rainfall  during  the  last  58  years  amounts  to  26.24  inches. 

The  spring  rainfall  (March,  April  and  May)  to  7.06  inches,  and 
the  summer  rainfall,  (June,  July  and  August)  to  10.40  inches. 

Referring  to  the  conditions  existing  in  the  immediate  location  of 


lg  MINNESOTA  fOREST  FIRES. 

the  fires  between  St.  Paul  and  Duluth,  we  find  the  local  conditions 

as  follows: 

THE  SOIL. 

The  soil  is  rather  light,  and  covered,  originally,  with  heavy  timber 
of  pine,  spruce  and  hard  woods,  except  in  certain  locations,  con- 
sisting of  pine  barrens,  swamps  or  lakes.  During  the  past  25  years 
much  of  the  timber  has  been  cut  off,  leaving  a  large  accumulation  of 
dead  and  down  timber,  stumps  and  brush,  inflammable  material. 

RAINFALL. 

The  records  of  the  weather  bureau  at  St.  Paul  show  a  normal 
rainfall  for  the  period  covered  by  the  drouth,  or  from  May  16  to 
Sept.  10,  of  13.61  inches.  For  the  same  period  during  1894  the 
records  show  a  rainfall  of  but  2.20  inches,  a  deficiency  of  11.41  inch- 
es, or  84  per  cent,  of  the  normal,  a  rainfall  per  square  acre  of  59,738 
gallons  as  against  a  normal  of  369,565  gallons.  During  the  time 
in  question,  (nearly  four  months)  no  soaking  rain,  but  a  number  of 
light  showers  were  reported,  amounting  in  July  to  but  0.13  inch,  and 
0.36  inch  in  August,  as  against  a  normal  of  2.99  and  2.98  inches  for 
the  same  months. 

One  inch  of  rain  falling  upon  an  area  of  one  square  mile  is  equiva- 
lent to  2,323,200  cubic  feet,  or  nearly  17,500,000  gallons,  and  this 
quantity  of  water  will  weigh  145,200,000  pounds,  or  72,600  tons. 
TEMPERATURE. 

The  reports  of  temperature  for  the  same  period  of  time,  show  an 
accumulated  excess  of  427  degrees,  a  daily  excess  of  4.2  degrees 
above  the  normal.  The  mean  temperature  at  St.  Paul  was  the 
highest  ever  recorded  for  July,  and  in  July,  26  degrees,  the  highest 
for  at  least  33  years. 

HUMIDITY. 

The  relative  humidity  of  the  atmosphere  is  best  shown  in  the  fol- 
lowing table  for  the  years  1891-2-3-4,  during  the  months  of  June, 
July  and  August. 

1891.  1892.  1893.  1894. 

June.    ..   77  per  cent.     71  per  cent.     64.3  per  cent.     60.5  per  cent. 
July.   ...   81  per  cent.     70  per  cent.     60.5  per  cent.     48    percent. 
Aug.  ...   74  per  cent.     72  per  cent.     63.2  per  cent.     59.6  per  cent 
Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  as  compared  with  1892  (in  which  vear 
ic  rainfall  was  somewhat  above  the  normal)  the  year  1894  showed 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  19 

a  marked  decrease  of  humidity  for  the  time  under  consideration,  and 
as  between  the  same  months  of  1891  and  1894,  a  steady  and  con- 
tinuous loss  of  humidity  from  the  air. 
WINDS. 

The  winds  both  as  to  direction  and  velocity,  show  but  little  varia- 
tion from  the  normal  up  to  Sept.  ist. 

Evaporation  is  constantly  adding  moisture  to  the  air  from  moist 
surfaces  of  the  earth,  water  and  plants,  the  rate  increases  with  the 
increase  of  the  temperature,  and  is  highest  at  times  of  greatest  heat 
combined  with  the  dryest  air  and  strongest  winds."  During  the 
period  under  consideration,  there  was  a  combination  of  all  the  es- 
sentials for  the  greatest  evaporation  except  the  winds,  which  until 
Sept.  ist,  were  not  strong.  These  conditions,  i.  e.,  great  lack  of 
rainfall,  high  temperature,  dry  air  and  light  winds,  were  persistent 
for  a  period  of  nearly  four  months,  resulting  in  parched  earth,  crops 
destroyed,  vegetation  of  all  kinds  dried  up  and  down 
timber  and  brush  but  tinder  ready  for  the  match.  Fires 
had  been  started  in  August  in  various  places  throughout 
the  timber  regions  of  Minnesota,  Wisconsin  and  Michigan,  and 
smouldered  or  sprung  into  life  as  the  winds  arose.  Such  was  the 
condition  up  to  the  ist  day  of  September,  which  ushered  in  "High, 
hot  winds,  that  fanned  the  fires  into  fierce  flames,  themselves  also 
creating  a  strong  upward  draft,  increasing  with  the  increase  of  the 
fierceness  of  the  fires  which  caused  such  destruction  of  life  and 
property." 

From  all  this  it  is  very  clear  that  for  a  considerable  time  terrible 
fires  in  the  forest  parts  of  Minnesota  had  been  not  only  possible, 
but  feared. 

As  early  as  July  i6th  the  Minneapolis  Tribune  had  a  report  from 
Hinckley,  which  read  as  follows: 

Fires  in  the  Northwest— Damage  being  done  in  the  vicinity  of  Hinckley. — Section 
men  get  to  work  to  fight  the  flames. — Hundreds  of  tons  of  hay  destroyed. 

Hinckley,  Minn.,  July  16. — The  forest  fires  in  this  vicinity  con- 
tinue, and  along  the  lines  of  the  Eastern  Minnesota  the  property  of 
the  country  is  threatened  to  such  an  extent  that  the  section  men  are 
all  out  fighting  the  flames.  So  far  no  reports  have  been  received 
of  any  damage  to  buildings,  although  ;n  several  instances  the  fires 
have  approached  very  closely,  and  have  only  been  driven  back  after 
hard  fighting. 


20  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

Along  the  line  of  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth,  between  this  place  and 
Mission  Creek,  the  next  station  south  of  here,  there  has  been  consid- 
erable loss  from  the  fires  in  the  meadows,  hundreds  of  tons  of  hay 
having  been  destroyed.  It  has  not  yet  been  necessary  for  the  com- 
pany to  take  any  steps  to  protect  its  property,  as  the  fires  have  been 
some  distance  from  its  right  of  way.  Unless  a  heavy  rain  comes 
soon  there  will  be  great  loss  sustained,  as  the  fires  are  spreading 
rapidly,  and  everything  is  as  dry  as  tinder. 

As  we  look  back,  in  the  light  of  our  experience,  we  wonder,  that 
with  such  warning  so  little  heed  was  paid  to  the  imminent  danger 
the  people  were  in,  and  by  the  facts  one  more  illustration  is  given 
of  the  old  truth,  thai  men  become  so  accustomed  to  great  peril,  that 
it  loses  its  terrors. 


MISSION  CREEK. 

IVTOTHIKG  in  all  the.  history  of  the  fire  deserves  observation  bet- 
r"  ter  than  the  conduct  of  the  people  who  live  at  Mission  Creek. 
All  had  the  good  sense  to  follow  their  leader's  advice,  and  to  stay 
in  a  piece  of  cleared  ground  upon  which  potatoes  were  being  grown. 
Around  this  little  village  much  of  the  pine  had  been  cut  off.  The 
heat,  consequently  was  not  as  intense  as  at  some  other  parts  of  the 
districts  in  the  region  where  the  fire  burned,  but  death  came  very 
near  to  every  one  of  those  who  were  at  Mission  Creek.  As  the 
reader  goes  north,  if  by  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  line,  at  Mission 
Creek  he  may  see  on  the  left  hand  side  of  the  train  a  log  house 
a  little  way  from  the  tracks.  The  potato  ground  was  in  front  of 
this  hpuse,  and  to  the  left  of  it,  that  is,  nearer  White  Bear.  It 
was  on  this  land,  perhaps  two  acres  in  area,  that  the  persons  named 
below  saved  their  lives.  From  that  little  log  house  they  set  out 
to  reach  the  train  at  the  bridge,  two  miles  and  a  half  nearer  Pine  City, 
and  when  they  got  to  it  were  soon  taken  to  a  place  of  comfort  in 
Pine  City.  Thus  these  dwellers  in  this  little  nook  of  earth,  who 
every  day  did  their  share  to  build  up  their  part  of  the  state,  helped 
to  make  history.  It  is  far  more  important  to  a  nation  to  know 
how  the  working  people  live,  how  they  escape  danger,  who  helps 
them  in  time  of  trouble  and  loss,  than  it  is  to  know  about  some 
political  intrigue.  It  is  in  scenes  like  and  allied  to  those  at  Mis- 
sion Creek  that  first  day  in  autumn  that  all  which  is  best  in  hu- 
man action  is  called  into  full  play. 
A  Resident  of  Mission  Creek  writes: 

Dear  Sir: — Your  letter  of  the  i6th  to  Mr.  Markham  has  been 
handed  to  me  by  him  to  answer.  It  was  my  intention  to  call  on 
you  and  report  personally  about  the  fire,  but  have  had  sickness 
in  my  family  and  could  not  do  so  as  yet,  but  will  give  you  the 
information  you  ask  herewith. 

21 


22 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  23 

Mission  Creek  was  a  small  saw  mill  town  owned  by  Laird  & 
Boyle,  who  also  owned  general  store,  hotel  and  saw  mill,  black- 
smith shop,  etc.  The  saw  mill  had  shut  down  about  a  month  be- 
fore the  fire  and  a  great  many  of  the  people  went  to  Dakota  harv- 
esting. 

At  that  time  there  were  seventy-three  people  here  who  were  work- 
ing on  their  lands  near  town.  They  had  been  fighting  the  local 
fire  for  a  month  before  the  fatal  day,  trying  to  save  what  hay  and 
wood,  etc.,  they  had  put  -up  on  their  places.  At  noon  September 
first,  they  became  more  or  less  uneasy,  as  great  clouds  of  smoke 
could  be  seen  in  the  southwest.  By  two  o'clock  the  wind  became 
a  hurricane  and  at  three  o'clock  it  was  almost  as  dark  as  night. 
The  people  all  came  to  the  store  wanting  Mr.  Boyle  to  telegraph 
for  a  train  to  take  them  away.  By  this  time  the  whole  place  was 
a-fire  and  Mr.  Boyle  ordered  everyone  to  the  potato  patch,  which 
was  in  the  rear  of  the  store,  and  at  the  same  time  gave  his  men 
orders  to  take  a  couple  of  barrels  of  water  along  which  were 
standing  on  a  wagon. 

Some  wanted  to  start  to  Hinckley,  and  did  so,  but  only  went  a 
few  rods  and  then  returned  to  the  potato  patch,  where  we  lay  fully 
two  hours  with  our  faces  to  the  ground,  until  the  worst  was  over. 
The  heat  was  intense  and  the  children  were  all  crying  from  the  heat 
and  ashes  which  nearly  blinded  us.  After  the  worst  was  over,  Mr. 
H.  S.  Rice  counted  up  our  crowd  and  found  one  short  and  we 
turned  out  to  hunt  for  him  in  the  field.  He  (Mr.  Hamilton)  was 
found  all  by  himself  a  few  rods  from  the  rest  of  us  all  right,  and 
in  looking  for  him,  we  found  the  log  house  which  we  could  not 
see  before  for  the  smoke  and  ashes.  At  six  o'clock  we  got  the 
women  and  children  to  this  house  and  the  men  watched  the  out- 
side, fearing  sparks  would  set  fire  to  it.  The  women  and  children 
got  their  faces  washed  and  felt  relieved  that  the  worst  was  over. 

Several  deer  were  seen  running  around  us  for  shelter  and  one 
large  one  got  caught  on  a  wire  fence  and  some  of  the  men  brought 
it  over  to  the  only  house  on  the  place.  We  dressed  and  cooked  it 
and  dug  up  some  potatoes  and  roasted  them  and  partook  of  sup- 
per about  8  .-30. 

About  this  time  Andrew  Nelson,  who  came  from  Pine  City  on 
foot,  going  to  Hinckley,  informed  us  a  train  was  at  the  bridge 
about  two  and  one  half  miles  south  of  us,  repairing  the  bridge 
which  was  burned,  and  would  reach  us  probably  about  eleven  o'clock. 


24  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

He  went  to  Hinckley  where  his  family  lives.  Mr.  Boyle  told  him 
to  have  Mr.  Young,  agent  at  Hinckley,  send  the  train  down  for  us, 
stating  the  condition  we  were  in.  Little  did  we  then  think  that 
Hinckley  had  met  its  doom  as  we  heard  later  on.  Our  crowd 
walked  over  the  burnt  ties  until  we  reached  the  work  train,  which 
took  us  to  Pine  City.  Everybody  lost  all  they  had,  except  that  a 
few  saved  a  little  wearing  apparel  which  they  had  in  satchels. 

The  village  contained  twenty-six  houses,  one  store,  one  hotel,  a 
mill,  a  blacksmith  shop  and  school  house.  There  were  thirty-eight 
head  of  stock  burned.  Laird  &  Boyle  lost  twenty-two  oxen  and 
four  horses.  Other  stock  was  burned  belonging  to  farmers. 

All  of  our  people  have  gone  back  on  their  lands  and  are  get- 
ting along  as  well  as  can  be  expected. 

Peter  Xyberg  and  Gust  Johnson  were  a  mile  east  of  town  in  the 
hay  meadow,  watching  the  hay  from  the  fire  when  a  big  fire  struck 
them.  They  lay  in  the  creek  until  the  worst  was  over  and  then 
came  in  Sunday  morning,  and  were  horrified  to  find  our  little  place 
completely  cleared  out  and  not  a  person  to  be  found  in  the  town. 

Our  people  are  thankful  to  think  they  did  not  meet  the  same  fate 
as  our  neighbors  north,  even  if  they  did  lose  all  their  worldly 
effects.  Yours  truly, 

ED.  J.  BOYLE. 


BROOK  PARK. 

A  T  the  time  of  the  fire  this  place  was  called  on  railroad  maps 
Pokegama;  but  the  post  office  was  Brook  Park,  and  the 
Great  Northern  road  has  since  changed  its  name  so  as  to  make 
it  the  same  as  the  post  office. 

Here,  at  the  time  of  the  disaster,  was  a  thriving  community  of 
happy  people.  They  were  away  from  the  noise,  strife  and  vice  of 
large  towns,  and  in  every  day  affairs  knew  and  cared  nothing 
about  the  style,  emulation  and  deceit  of  much  that  is  known  as 
society.  For  them  the  clear  brook  ran  its  silvery  course  through 
the  woods,  the  birds  sang  glad  songs  of  love,  the  cows  roamed  at 
will  and  enjoyed  themselves  as  well  behaved  kine  should.  The 
rising  sun  dispelled  the  darkness  and  the  silent  moon  spread  its  rays 
o'er  all  the  landscape.  The  whole  scene  was  such  as  brought  joy 
to  the  hearts  of  men  and  women  who  had  no  ambitions  except  to 
do  their  daily  duty,  and  make  an  honest  and  comfortable  living. 

The  boys  and  girls — happy  children  of  nature — in  the  spring 
and  summer  time  plucked  flowers  and  fruits,  went  to  school,  and 
said  their  prayers,  never  dreaming  of  the  world  outside  their  en- 
chanted groves.  This  spot  was  to  their  young  hearts  a  paradise — 
a  very  gate  of  heaven. 

The  winter  brought  to  them  its  stern,  but  not  sad  realities;  the 
treasures  of  the  snow  gave  peculiar  opportunities  for  enjoyment, 
which  they  were  quick  to  take  advantage  of.  Thus  the  charmed 
years  passed,  full  of  pleasure,  full  of  work  and  of  play,  of  prayer 
praise  and  service. 

Brook  Park  had  no  police  court,  needed  no  jail,  no  saloon;  not 
one  of  the  abominations  known  in  modern  crowded  city  life  in  con- 
nection with  the  tenement  houses,  crowded,  narrow  thoroughfares, 
squalor,  rags  and  dirt. 

Enough  to  eat,  drink  and  wear,  a  good  school,  plenty  of  work, 
and  all  things  necessary  for  life  and  godliness.  Here  each  and 
every  public  improvement  was  the  concern  of  every  one,  and  all 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  27 

desired  to  see  everything  possible  done  to  advance  the  public  in- 
terests and  the  general  good. 

When  the  foundations  of  the  new  school  house  were  laid,  it  was 
a  high  day;  and  when  a  thousand  dollars  had  been  spent  upon  it, 
and  it  stood  on  the  day  of  the  fire  complete,  and  was  that  very 
day  accepted  from  the  hands  of  its  builders,  it  was  the  pride  of  the 
place.  In  less  than  one  hour  it  was  gone;  the  fire  had  consumed 
it! 

Air.  Berg  was  postmaster,  Mr.  Xelson  was  section  foreman  on 
the  Eastern  Division  of  the  Great  Northern  railroad.  Dr.  Kelsey 
was  medical  practitioner,  and  represented  the  Kelsey-Markham  Land 
Company,  in  which  are  four  partners:  Dr.  Kelsey's  brother,  who 
is  a  banker  at  Kenyon,  Minnesota,  the  doctor  himself,  J.  D.  Mark- 
ham  and  his  brother  George,  both  of  whom  reside  at  Rush  City. 
These  men  own  fifteen  thousand  acres  of  land  at  and  near  Brook 
Tark. 

The  firm  of  Seymour  and  Baty  had  a  saw  mill,  which  would  cut 
thirty  thousand  feet  of  lumber  a  day. 

Mr.  Carver  and  wife  kept  the  boarding  house.  It  is  said  that 
Mrs.  Carver  was  a  model  in  neat  housekeeping  and  good  cooking. 

Among  the  settlers  were  Mr.  Joseph  Frame  and  his  wife — typical 
westerners — with  their  family  of  six  sons.  This  family  have  a  taste 
for  music,  and  amongst  its  household  treasures  was  a  violin,  which 
Joseph  made  do  duty  often  at  home  to  the  delight  of  the  boys,  and 
in  the  evenings  he  made  it  discourse  sweet  music  for  the  pleasure 
of  his  neighbors.  This  violin  was  a  general  happiness  dispenser, 
and  great  indeed  was  Mr.  Frame's  sorrow  when  he  found  that  it 
was  turned  to  ashes,  while  he  had  not  a  cent  in  all  the  wide  world 
with  which  to  buy  another.  He  said:  "There  is  nothing  I  have 
lost  I  so  much  regret  as  my  fiddle.  It  was  my  daily  companion 
many  years.  I  feel  lost  without  it.'' 

I  told  this  story  to  my  good  friend,  Mr.  Dyer,  music  dealer  in 
Minneapolis,  who  promptly  gave  me  a  new  violin  for  Mr.  Frame. 
I  wonder  if  ever  a  violin  in  the  world  produced  such  pleasure  in 
the  heart  of  man  as  this  did  in  the  mind  of  him  who  received  it! 
It  is  almost  certain  that  the  first  musical  instrument  taken  into  the 
burned  district  after  the  fire  was  this  violin. 

In  the  fire,  Mrs.  Frame  had  a  thrilling  experience.  She  was  away 
from  her  home  with  her  family  and  a  neighbor,  Mrs.  W.  W.  Bra- 
man,  picking  cranberries  in  a  marsh.  Her  husband  left  them,  think- 


95  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIXES. 

ing  them  safe,  to  go  and  look  after  his  hay.  Alas!  the  fire  came 
in  a  way,  and  at  a  time  they  looked  not  for  it!  They  took  refuge 
in  a  creek  and  by  prudence  and  courage  all  escaped  with  their  lives; 
but  it  was  a  miracle,  almost,  that  they  did  so. 

Mr.  Frame  escaped  by  staying  on  a  piece  of  land  which  had  been 
burned  over  before.  They  saved  a  team;  all  they  owned  beside 
was  lost. 

\Yhen  the  fire  had  passed,  they  stood  but  thinly  clad,  in  all  the 
garments  they  possessed. 

In  this,  however,  they  were  as  well  off  as  any  of  their  neighbors, 
for  all  had  suffered  like  and  many  greater  ills. 

There  were  twenty-three  dead;  and  those  who  were  living  were  scat- 
tered. 

Dr.  Kelsey  was  severely  burned,  so  was  Joseph  Gonyea,  who  was 
taken  to  the  St.  Raphael  hospital  in  St.  Cloud,  where  he  had  to 
remain  a  long  time. 

There  were  two  box  cars  on  the  railway  tracks  which  had  es- 
caped the  violence  of  the  fire.  Into  these  the  settlers  gathered,  till 
help  came,  which  soon  reached  them. 

The  St.  Cloud  people,  when  they  knew  of  the  disaster,  began  to 
relieve  the  suffering.  They  sent  out  a  train  on  Sunday  the  second 
of  September,  which  reached  Brook  Park,  and  took  the  many  suf- 
ferers to  Mora,  where  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  had  been 
made  into  a  hospital.  On  Mcnda\  they  sent  a  special  train  to 
Brook  Park,  which  took  large  quantities  of  useful  things.  For 
this  and  other  generous  deeds  of  love,  the  St.  Cloud  people  de- 
serve high  praise.  The  names  of  the  persons  who  went  en  this 
train  are  in  the  report  of  the  work  done  by  the  people  of  St.  Cloud. 
The  good  people  of  Mora,  also,  must  not  be  left  without  due  and 
ample  recognition  for  their  noble  help,  led  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thom- 
son, Methodist  Episcopal  minister.  They  behaved  as  men  and 
brothers  should.  Verily  they  will  have  their  reward. 

To  the  people  of  Mora  and  St.  Cloud  belongs  the  credit  of 
being  the  first  on  the  ground  to  render  assistance  to  the  afflicted  at 
Brook  Park. 

A  report  of  the  work  done  by  them  is  given  in  this  book. 
While  this  was  being  done  from  the  south   side   of  the   fire  at 
Brook  Park,  earnest  souls  at  the  north  side  did  not  sit  down  with 
folded  hands.      Rather  they  designed  noble  plans  to  get  to  their 
fellows,  whether  they  were  living  or  dead. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  29 

On  the  Monday  night  at  Hinckley  in  the  railway  yards,  piles  cf 
wheat  were  burning,  and  the  ties  under  the  rails  blazed.  All  the 
landscape  for  miles  was  clouded  with  smoke.  A  party  of  gentle- 
men, headed  by  J.  D.  Markham,  on  Monday,  September  third,  pro- 
cured a  hand  car,  at  Hinckley,  and  loaded  it  with  two  army  tents, 
thirty  pairs  of  blankets,  food  of  various  kinds,  axes  and  several 
shovels,  a  flour  barrel  full  of  useful  things,  and,  like  men  who  have 
set  their  hearts  to  face  any  danger,  determined  to  reach  Brook  Park 
that  night.  The  names  of  these  gentlemen  are:  J.  D.  Markham, 
Dr.  H.  B.  Allen  of  Cloquet,  Dr.  C.  W.  Higgins,  Minneapolis,  B.  J. 
Kelsey  of  Kenyon,  Alexander  Berg,  W.  W.  Braman  of  Brook 
Brook  Park,  Mr.  Thomson,  Xew  Brighton,  Minnesota,  Rev.  Mr. 
Fosbroke,  Protestant  Episcopal  minister  at  Sunrise,  Minnesota,  and 
the  writer.  Around  this  car  at  its  start  stood  many  well  known 
men  to  wish  the  party  good  speed,  amongst  whom  were  Senator 
McMillan,  Dr.  Kilvington,  Dr.  Nippert,  Dr.  Fitzgerald  and  Alder- 
man Gray,  all  of  Minneapolis.  All  these  men  I  knew,  but  did 
not  know  any  of  the  many  others  from  different  parts  of  the  state. 

We  had  two  lanterns  and  set  out,  little  knowing  the  difficulties 
and  dangers  ahead.  The  car  was  so  crowded  that  I  had  to  sit 
on  the  top  of  blankets  piled  up  on  the  barrel. 

Dr.  Higgins  and  Dr.  Allen  sat  in  front  of  the  car,  each  with  a 
lantern,  and  filled  the  office  of  watchmen.  Even'  man  kept  his  ears 
open  and  his  mouth  closed.  It  was  not  a  time  or  place  for  idle 
talk. 

As  the  darkness  gathered,  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  the  blaz- 
ing stumps  of  pine  lighted  up  the  distant  scene,  and  gave  to  it  an 
air  of  peculiar  beauty.  But  we  were  not  on  the  lookout  for  grand 
scenes,  or  picturesqueness.  All  felt  the  sadness  of  the  hour,  and 
the  importance  of  our  mission. 

We  had  not  'gone  far  when  rang  into  the  silent  air:  "Stop!  rails 
spread!"  On  went  the  brake  like  a  flash,  and  every  man  had  to 
get  off  the  car,  and  by  much  trouble  the  damaged  rails  were  passed, 
and  again  we  went  on  our  way;  and  soon  "Burned  culvert,"  was 
the  cry;  and  we  not  only  had  to  get  off  the  car,  but  to  unload  it 
and  carry  the  goods  over,  as  well  as  the  car.  Not  a  man  shirked  his 
share  of  the  work.  Every  one  took  hold  with  a  will.  Few  words 
well  ordered  action,  and  in  the  course  of  half  an  hour  all  was  ready 
to  proceed. 

Xovv,  it  was  needful  to  have  some  one  walk  ahead  with  a  lantern. 


30 


MIXXESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


DR.  KELSEY,  BROOK  PARK.  ALDERMAN  DE  LEO,  ST.  CLOUD. 


RELICS  FROM  THE  FIRE. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  31 

All  offered  to  do  this.  Dr.  Higgins  took  his  first  turn.  The  rails 
were  terribly  warped,  and  in  many  places  the  atmosphere  was  sti- 
fling, a  peculiar  thing  being,  that  the  density  of  the  smoke  in  the 
air  was  like  streaks  of  fat  and  lean  in  bacon — new  dense,  then  clear. 
At  last  we  came  to  a  place  where  nature  and  destiny  appeared  to 
say:  "Gentlemen,  so  far  you  may  come;  farther  you  shall  not, 
with  that  hand  car,  go!"  The  culvert — if  it  could  be  called  one — 
I  should  call  it  a  bridge,  was  long  and  high.  In  the  bottom  was 
burning  earth.  One  said:  'This  is  a  terror!  We  shall  find  it 
hard  to  get  over  this  place  even  a-foot!"  In  the  hour  last  passed 
quite  a  little  wind  had  begun  to  blow,  and  the  whole  surrounding 
country  was  like  a  fairy  creation;  flames  of  all  sizes,  and  burning 
embers  of  all  kinds  could  be  seen.  The  moment  the  peat  was 
reached  and  a  man's  foot  placed  upon  it,  the  danger  was  manifest. 
We  held  a  short  council  of  war.  One  gentleman  said:  "There  is 
not  more  than  two  or  three  yards  of  smoldering  fire  between  us  and 
firm  ground.  The  shovels  we  brought  are  made  for  such  a  time 
as  this."  In  a  trice  those  shovels  were  throwing  the  burning  earth 
to  the  winds.  WTe  carried  all  the  blankets  over  the  path  thus  made; 
the  tents  and  all  our  food  also;  then  took  in  hand  the  car.  It  ran 
down  the  slope,  I  thought,  beautifully.  At  the  bottom  it  came  to 
a  sudden  stop,  and  so  did  those  who  had  to  carry  it  up,  often  before 
they  got  it  to  the  top.  It  seemed  to  weigh  a  ton ;  the  hill  was  very 
steep,  the  ground  very  hot,  and  the  air  full  of  hot,  flying  ashes. 
Resolution  never  failed;  at  last  the  railway  track  was  reached  and 
all  were  thankful. 

The  journey  was  continued,  and  we  reached  the  burned  bridge  at 
Brook  Park  after  twelve  o'clock,  so  it  was,  in  fact,  Tuesday  morn- 
ing when  we  got  there.  We  had  to  leave  the  car  at  this  place  and 
go  on  foot  up  the  line.  \Ve  found  the  two  cars  and  the  people 
who  had  been  through  the  fire,  and  also  the  St.  Cloud  working  men. 
It  was  a  time  of  joy.  Dr.  Kelsey,  who  was  reported  dead,  was  alive, 
but  had  a  burned  face  and  sore  eyes.  We  distributed  the  blankets, 
which  the  people  needed,  said  our  prayers  and  lay  down  on  the 
floor  of  a  box  car  till  five  o'clock,  when  we  all  got  up. 

There  was  no  stove  or  fireplace  nearer  than  Mora,  eight  miles 
away;  but  the  people  of  St.  Cloud  had  thoughtfully  brought  kettles 
and  frying  pans,  knives,  forks  and  spoons,  bread,  coffee,  tea,  con- 
densed Swiss  milk,  eggs,  bacon,  beef  and  other  things.  We  had 
no  table.  We  made  a  fire  in  the  open  air  and  prepared  breakfast. 


32  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

There  was  little  style  at  Brook  Park  during  the  first  week  of  Sep- 
tember, but  what  was  lacking  in  style  was  madt  up  in  appetite; 
and  there  was  plenty  of  good  living  and  good  fellowship. 

On  that  day  and  the  next  we  found  seventeen  dead.  In  several 
cases  we  had  to  carry  heavy  wooden  boxes  long  distances  in  which 
to  put  the  dead. 

The  settlers,  the  St.  Cloud  men,  the  party  who  came  on  the  hand 
car  and  Mr.  Barnes,  a  divinity  student,  who  preached  at  Milaca, 
all  did  their  best.  Not  one  of  the  dead  had  a  vestige  of  clothing 
upon  them;  all  were  sadly  disfigured.  Many  could  not  be  recog- 
nized, except  by  circumstantial  evidence.  Twenty-three  are  known 
to  be  dead.  I  saw  the  bodies  of  nineteen,  only  one  of  which  I 
could  have  identified,  no  matter  how  well  I  had  known  the  departed. 
All  the  dead  buried  at  Brook  Park  that  were  found  were  placed 
in  graves  on  Mplander's  farm.  Several  bodies  were  sent  away  for 
burial. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Fosbroke  read  a  part  of  the  service  at  several  of 
the  funerals.  I  took  charge  of  the  funerals  in  so  far  as  the  church 
service  was  concerned,  and  gave  an  address  at  each  and  all.  Over 
each  grave  was  placed  a  cross  made  of  wood,  and  upon  it  was 
written  the  nine  of  the  dead  who  rests  beneath. 

On  Tuesday,  September  fourth,  in  the  morning  search  for  the 
d"ead,  we  passed  twenty-nine  dead  cows,  oxen  and  horses.  These 
were  later  burned  under  piles  of  charred  pine,  gathered  from  the 
course  of  the  fire.  One  of  the  latest  bodies  found  was  that  of  Mr. 
Jaw  W.  Braman,  who  was  twenty-seven  years  old,  and  \vas  at  the 
time  of  the  fire  with  his  father  hauling  hay.  They  were  driving  to 
Brook  Park  from  north  of  the  town,  when  the  father  said:  "The 
fire  is  upon  us ;  the  hay  will  soon  be  ablaze.  Let  us  leave  the  horses 
and  wagon,  and  escape  for  our  lives!"  he  son  replied:  "Father, 
you  go;  I  can  make  a  place  of  safety;  you  look  out  for  yourself.'' 

Vain  hope!  Mr.  Braman  made  for  the  pool  of  water  in  the 
shadow  of  the  railway  embankment,  near  the  bridge,  where  more 
than  thirty  people  were  saved.  See  photograph. 

On  Wednesday,  September  fifth,  I  was  out  with  a  searching  party. 
We  found  the  tires  of  the  burned  wagon,  part  of  the  harness,  rem- 
nants of  the  team  driven  by  the  Bramans  on  their  ill  fated  journey,; 
not  far  from  these  the  charred  bodies  of  the  two  horses,  burned  al- 
most past  recognition ;  and  near,  the  young  man  lay  in  the  stillness 
of  death.  He  had  evidently  unhitched  the  horses  to  give  them  a 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  F[RES.  33 

chance  for  their  lives,  and  in  doing  this  had  stayed  too  long  and 
sacrificed  his  own  life,  lie  was  the  only  son  of  his  mother,  a  good 
young  man,  her  comfort  and  hope.  His  body  was  that  day  buried 
on  F.  Molander's  farm.  I  read  the  service  of  the  book  of  com- 
mon prayer  over  it,  gave  an  address,  and  marked  the  spot  with  a 
wooden  cross  inscribed  with  his  name.  Later  his  remains  were 
removed  to  the  new  burial  ground  in  the  cemetery.  I  was  pres- 
ent at  the  re-interment.  This  was  the  first  body  placed  in  God's 
acre  at  Brook  Park.  When  this  funeral  took  place,  the  sun  was 
shining,  the  settlers  stood  around — all  sad  at  this  death,  sad  at  the 
knowledge  of  their  own  great  losses,  and  desolate  prospects.  Will- 
ing hands  had  dug  this  grave;  around  it  stood  Airs.  Nelson  and  her 
family,  the  Kelseys,  the  Wards,  the  Frames,  Air.  Racine,  the  John- 
sons, John  Powers,  who  had  distinguished  himself  at  a  time  when 
all  men  and  women  had  done  their  very  best.  No  work  was  too 
disagreeable  or  too  difficult  for  John.  He  had  put  bodies  long 
dead  into  coffins;  helped  to  dig  graves  and  had  done  all  love  could 
prompt  a  man  to  do. 

Thte  burial  scene  was  one  to  captivate  the  mind  of  an  artist,  who 
desires  to  portray  love  and  service,  life  and  death  in  their  verv  best 
forms. 

On  this  day,  October  seventeenth,  Fred  Molander  was  found  in 
a  well,  but  in  such  a  state  that  those  who  knew  him  in  life  knew  him 
just  as  well  in  death.  This  well  was  thought  to  be  empty,  at  the 
time  of  the  fire,  and  when  looked  into  from  the  top,  appeared  to  be 
covered  with  cinders  and  ashes  and  to  contain  nothing  more.  When 
Frank  Lepingarver.went  to  rebuild  on  his  land,  which  is  near  that 
upon  which  Fred  Molander  resided,  and  went  down  into  Molan- 
der's well  to  clean  it  out,  to  his  surprise  he  found  six  feet  of  water, 
and  the  body  of  Molander.  He  quickly  came  to  the  top  and  re- 
ported the  facts. 

Dr.  Kelsey,  W.  W.  Braman,  John  Powers,  David  Frame  and 
others  went  to  the  well,  taking  a  box  which  had  been  made  by  the 
St.  Cloud  men,  and  left  to  use  in  the  event  of  finding  any  more 
dead.  Dr.  Kelsey  descended  the  well,  fastened  a  rope  about  the 
body,  by  which  it  was  lifted  to  the  surface,  where  it  was  reverently 
placed  in  the  box,  conveyed  to  the  grave  left  vacant  by  the  removal 
of  Jay  Braman's  remains,  and  buried  there.  I  was  present  here  also, 
read  the  church  service  and  gave  an  address.  This  was  the  last 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


VANDERLUCE,  NEWS  AGENT,  ST.  CLOUD. 


NORMAN  E.  WILKINSON. 


NORTH  AIINNESOTA  BEFORE  THE  FIRE. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  F[RES.  35 

body  found.  Fred  Molander  rests  in  his  own  inheritance  ;that  is  to 
say,  in  the  land  upon  which  lie  lived. 

He  had  been  in  the  well  from  September  first  until  October  sev- 
enteenth following,  being  the  same  date  upon  which  the  re-inter- 
ment of  Jay  Braman  took  place. 

At  Brook  Park,  there  were  many  striking  scenes  at  the  time  of 
the  fire,  and  many  wonderful  escapes.  The  fire  came  from  Quagma, 
and  began  at  the  north  end  of  the  railway  switch  at  that  place; 
coming  north  to  Brook  Park,  it  swept  away  in  its  hot  flames  every- 
thing burnable  in  its  path. 

The  people  made  as  quickly  as  possible  for  places  they  thought 
would  hide  them  from  the  storm. 

C.  W.  Kelsey  and  his  wife,  author  of  "The  September  Holocaust," 
and  their  children  got  into  a  well.  They  had  a  blanket  which  they 
kept  wet  Mrs.  Kelsey  is  a  God  fearing  woman,  and  an  old  fash- 
ioned believer  in  Providence.  Mr.  Kelsey  stood  on  a  ladder  in  the 
well.  They  could  hear  the  roar  of  the  fire;  the  smoke  was  dense, 
and  they  knew  the  destruction  raging  all  around,  and  that  if  spared 
at  all,  all  they  would  have  left  would  be  their  family.  The  child- 
ren cried;  their  mother  comforted  them  with:  "Don't  cry,  Earl, 
God  will  take  care  of  us!"  And  so  He  did.  "Madie,  what  is  the 
matter?  Don't  faint;  you  will  fall  into  the  water!  Allen,  give 
your  sister  a  drink."  The  little  boy  Earl  began  to  talk  in  his  child- 
ish way:  "We  will  go  to  hebben,"  said  he.  Mr.  Kelsey  replied, 
"We  must  pray  to  God  to  save  us;  our  house  is  on  fire." 

The  heat  was  nearly  unbearable,  but  the  water  in  the  well  helped 
them  to  endure  it.  The  wind  took  the  flames  from  the  house  away 
from  the  well. 

The  mother  said:  "Let  us  sing."  And  the  two  older  children 
joined  their  mother  in  singing  sweetly, 

"Jesus  loves  me;  He  who  died 
Heaven's   gate  to  open  wide; 
He  will  wash  away  my  sin; 
Let  His  little  child  come  in." 

Could  anything  be  more  beautiful  than  this?  It  was  from  this 
well  which  had  become  holy  ground,  that  this  family  came,  only  to 
witness  such  desolation  as  few  people  ever  beheld. 

It  was  now  that  the  work  of  reconstruction  had  to  begin  in  earn- 
est. The  living  cannot  forever  dwell  upon  the  dead;  life  hath  its 
active  duties,  which  no  disaster  can  put  an  end  to,  and  the  dwel- 


3Q  MIN.\ESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

lers  at  Brook  Park  looked  those  duties  fairly  in  the  face.  They 
examined  the  damage  done  by  the  fire,  and  asked,  "What  can  we 
do  and  how  can  we  best  do  it,  to  repair  the  loss?"  The  many 
friends  of  the  residents  came  with  words  of  cheer  and  generous 
deeds  of  help  from  Stillwater,  sent  words  which  brought  joy  to  the 
hearts  of  the  settlers,  and  substantial  aid  also.  From  Airs.  W.  C. 
Kelsey's  brother,  Dr.  Allen,  in  Cloquet,  came  men  and  material 
to  build  for  her  a  new  house,  much  better  than  the  one  burned. 
This  he  gave  them  with  a  most  cheerful  will.  The  state  commis- 
sion oCiered  to  help  the  settlers  to  a  new  start.  They  placed  Xor- 
man  E.  Wilkinson  in  charge  as  their  representative.  Careful  in- 
quiry was  made  into  every  man's  loss,  and  present  need.  The  Kel- 
sey,  Markham  Company  gave  to  each  man,  for  whom  the  state 
commission  built  a  house,  two  acres  of  land,  so  that  every  family 
stands  in  the  position  of  having  a  good  house  and  a  garden,  all 
free  from  debt,  and  the  land  adjoining  it  in  such  a  state  that  as 
much  can  be  cleared  this  year  as  could  have  been  cleared  in  four, 
before  the  fire. 

Many  persons  sent  help  in  various  ways,  which  did  not  go  through 
the  hands  of  the  state  relief  commission.  Air.  George  D.  Turner, 
of  Minneapolis,  who  was  for  years  engaged  in  the  lumber  trade  on 
Kettle  river,  sent  a  car  which  contained  many  tools  and  things  used 
in  farming,  to  Brook  Park.  In  this  way  and  by  the  skill  of  ex- 
perienced heads  and  the  deftness  of  willing  hands  the  conditions 
in  eight  months  since  the  fire  have  been  rapidly  changed  and  all 
are  full  of  confidence  and  zeal.  There  are  many  who  think  that  ex- 
cept for  the  sacrifice  of  life,  that  which  at  first  looked  so  awful  and 
such  a  terrible  calamity,  will  be  a  means  of  stimulating  the  progress 
and  growth  of  Pine  county,  in  which  Brook  Park  is  located,  by 
leaps  and  bounds. 

What  DR.  C.  A.  KELSEY  says: 

The  first  settler  went  to  Brook  Park  in  1893.  Amongst  them 
William  Thomson,  James  Riley,  James  Smith,  Joseph  Coblin. 
When  I  went  to  live  there  in  June  of  1894,  there  were  one  hundred 
and  thirty-five  persons  in  the  settlement.  All  through  the  month  of 
August  these  fires  had  burned  south  and  west  of  us.  On  the  day 
of  the  great  fire  the  wind  blew  a  gale  from  the  southwest  acid  swept 
the  fire,  which  seemed  formed  in  a  line  about  three  miles  long,  over 
the  town.  The  buildings  in  Brook  Park  at  this  time,  belonged  to 
Messrs.  Rafel,  Johnson,  Supero,  Missel,  Hans  Nelson,  A.  Berg 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  37 

(store  building),  a  boarding  house  owned  by  Bousher  and  Racine, 
Ward,  Thompson,  Collier,  Anderson,  Raymond,  C.  \V.  Kelsey, 
Whitney,  Goodsell,  C.  H.  Ward,  W.  W.  Brenman  and  myself.  The 
fire  came  from  the  southwest  and  proceeded  toward  Hinckley,  and 
I  suppose  it  was  the  same  fire  that  burned  Hinckley  and  that  coun- 
try, for  it  was  about  two  o'clock  when  it  reached  us,  and  it  struck 
Hinckley  about  four,  giving  it  time  to  travel  about  that  distance. 
It  would  be  interesting  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  on  a  clear 
day  a  fire  that  is  a  long  distance  off  appears  to  be  very  near.  When 
the  fires  first  began,  they  were  burning  all  around  the  country.  I 
was  greatly  alarmed  one  day  by  a  fire  which  appeared  to  be  very 
near  us,  but  upon  investigation  proved  to  be  about  six  miles  away. 
The  day  of  the  great  fire  the  atmosphere  was  filled  with  smoke,  but; 
none  were  aware  of  their  danger  until  it  was  upon  them.  The 
question  among  the  people  was  "Is  there  danger?"  One  was  run- 
ning to  the  other  asking,  "Where  is  the  fire?"  and  no  one  seemed, 
to  be  able  to  answer  the  question.  The  people  gathered  together 
near  the  Pokegama  creek.  My  own  family,  a  short  time  before  the 
fire,  was  scattered,  one  little  boy  having  gone  to  the  store  and  an- 
other unloading  lath;  but  a  few  minutes  before  the  fire  came,  we 
were  altogether  in  our  home.  Mrs.  Kelsey's  first  impression  was 
to  go  to  the  boarding  house  to  see  if  there  was  danger,  but  after 
leaving  the  house  she  went  up  through  the  garden  toward  the  mill. 
This  proved  providential,  for  had  she  gone  by  the  school  house, 
she  would  probably  have  been  in  danger,  for  it  was  bursting  into 
flames  by  the  time  she  would  have  been  near  it.  Upon  reaching 
the  railroad  she  first  thought  that  the  greatest  safety  would  be  to 
go  down  the  railroad  track.  Some  influence  changed  this  impres- 
sion and  she  turned  and  went  toward  the  mill  and  arrived  on  the 
banks  of  the  creek  just  in  time  to  save  herself  and  the  children  by 
getting  into  the  water,  where  she  found  the  majority  of  the  neigh- 
bors. They  were  in  a  small  pond  near  the  railroad  bridge. 

The  fire  swept  in  through  the  old  logging  dam,  setting  fire  to  a 
pile  of  edgings  which  had  been  dumped  over  a  steep  bank  by  the 
mill  company.  This  made  an  intense  heat  which  drove  them  to 
the  opposite  side  of  the  pond,  a  distance  of  about  100  feet.  The 
next  great  heat  came  from  the  burning  section  house  and  lumber 
yard,  to  the  east  of  them.  When  this  in  a  measure  had  subsided 
the  railroad  bridge  took  fire.  This  increased  their  danger,  for  had 
it  fallen  toward  the  people,  it  would  have  placed  them  in  great  peril. 


38  MINNESOTA  IOREST  FIRES. 

They  moved  as  far  away  as  they  could  and  watched  the  burning 
structure,  which  fortunately  did  not  fall  toward  them.  This  little 
pond  was  about  fifteen  feet  deep  in  the  center,  allowing-  only  the 
edges  to  be  used  by  the  people,  and  the  danger  was  increasd  by 
getting  beyond  their  depth  in  the  water.  The  people  huddled  togeth- 
er, giving  such  assistance  to  each  other  as  neighbors  could  under 
the  circumstances,  throwing  water  upon  each  other  and  assisting  in 
care  of  the  children.  The  heat  was  so  intense  they  were  obliged 
to  stand  in  the  water  and  barely  leave  their  mouths  and  noses  ex- 
posed so  as  to  breathe,  and  were  obliged  to  keep  their  heads  con- 
stantly wet. 

Among  others  was  Mrs.  Collier,  whose  baby  was  only  three  weeks 
old.  The  little  one  came  through  bravely,  and  seemed  as  happy 
after  the  experience  as  though  nothing  had  happenede. 

The  people  were  kept  in  this  pond  by  the  heat  from  two  until 
six  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

By  six  o'clock  Mr.  Ward  had  explored  up  the  track  and  found 
two  box  cars,  untouched  by  the  fire,  that  had  been  left  that  after- 
noon. One  was  loaded  with  brick  and  the  other  with  lath.  They 
were  directly  opposite  a  piece  of  land  whach  had  been  burned  clear, 
and  so  nothing  was  left  upon  it  to  be  burned  and  they  thus  es- 
caped. A  part  of  our  people  went  immediately  to  these  cars  for 
shelter.  Quite  a  number  of  people  were  in  these  cars  for  two 
nights,  without  any  change  of  clothing  after  coming  out  of  the  water. 

Our  breakfast  Sunday  morning  after  the  fire,  consisted  of  boiled 
potatoes  without  any  salt,  and  roasted  eggs  which  were  found  where 
two  cases  had  been  unloaded  the  day  of  the  fire.  The  boxes  were 
burned  and  some  of  the  eggs,  but  some  in  the  inside  were  nicely 
roasted. 

Sunday  afternoon  the  good  people  of  Mora  came  to  us  upon  two 
hand  cars.  They  immediately  returned  bringing  to  us  a  supply  of 
food,  but  they  were  unable  to  bring  bedding,  so  that  the  second 
night  was  spent  without  bedding,  and  the  people  slept  upon  piles 
of  lath  or  brick. 

Monday  afternoon  the  relief  train  from  St.  Cloud  reached  us, 
bringing  a  supply  of  food  sufficient  to  satisfy  all  our  wants,  and  a 
train  load  of  kind  hearted  people  who  were  anxious  and  glad  to  do 
all  in  their  power  to  add  to  our  relief. 

Monday  night  a  party  consisting  of  Rev.  Wilkinson,  of  Minne- 
apolis, B.  J.  Kelsey,  from  Kenyon,  Dr.  C.  W.  Higgins,  from  Minne- 


M1X2TESOFA.  FOREST  FIRES.  39 

apolis,  Dr.  Allen,  from  Cloquet,  and  J.  D.  Markham  reached  us  on 
a  hand  car,  by  way  of  Hinckley,  after  exposing  themselves  to  great 
danger  of  being  dashed  to  pieces  by  being  precipitated  into  some  of 
the  creeks  where  the  bridges  were  burned,  in  the  darkness  of  the 
night,  and  after  carrying  their  hand  car  and  its  contents  around  these 
burned  bridges,  in  some  instances  being  obliged  to  shovel  the  burn- 
ing earth  to  make  a  path  through.  They  brought  with  them  a 
supply  of  blankets,  the  first  we  had  received,  medicines,  bandages, 
food  and  tools,  and  still  more,  kind  hearts  and  willing  hands  to  as- 
sist us.  Rev.  Wilkinson  remained  with  us  after  the  remainder  of 
the  party  had  returned  to  their  homes,  helping  us  to  find  our  dead, 
pronouncing  burial  services,  and  with  his  own  hands  assisted  us  in 
burning  up  stock  which  had  perished  and  was  endangering  our 
health,  and  in  many  other  ways  working  heroically  while  offering  us 
kind  words  of  encouragement  and  sympathy. 

Immediately  after  the  fire  nearly  half  of  our  settlers  took  the  first 
train  and  their  departure.  This  removed  from  us  all  of  the  timid 
ones  and  left  with  us  a  band  with  bravery  and  courage  to  stay  and 
continue  the  development  of  our  villages.  They  have  all  been 
enabled  to  remain  through  the  kind  assistance  so  nobly  rendered  by 
voluntary  subscriptions,  and  the  state  assistance  granted  through 
the  legislature,  and  wisely  expended  by  able  business  men,  who  were 
willing  to  neglect  their  own  business  to  superintend  the  disposal 
of  the  fund  placed  in  their  hand  for  our  relief. 

The  terrible  loss  of  our  friends  and  neighbors,  (twenty-three  per- 
ished), can  never  be  repaired.  The  destruction  of  timber  was  great, 
but  the  service  rendered  by  the  clearing  of  the  land  will  result  in  a 
benefit  in  future  development  into  a  farming  country,  which  will 
fully  repay  all  financial  losses.  Since  the  fire  twenty-four  different 
families  have  purchased  land,  and  have  arranged  or  are  arranging 
to  make  Brook  Park  their  future  home.  The  work  of  clearing  up 
and  making  farms  is  progressing  at  a  rapidity  that  surprises  us. 
Some  farmers  will  be  able  to  put  in  forty  acres  of  crops  this  year, 
providing  the  seed  can  be  obtained.  Our  homes  have  been  rebuilt, 
a  school  house  erected,  in  which  we  are  now  having  school,  a  Sun- 
day school  organized;  and  our  ladies  have  gone  to  work  to  raise 
funds  for  the  first  payment  on  an  organ  which  is  now  being  used 
for  the  Sunday  school  and  day  school. 

Our  present  settlement  is  one  in  which  we  take  great  pride,  be- 
ing composed  of  intelligent  and  energetic  people.  While  laying 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIXES. 


J   D.  MARKHAM,  EROOK  PARK. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  41 

foundations  for  future  prosperity,  our  numbers  are  being-  augmented 
constantly  and  the  quality  of  the  land,  being1  a  rich  clay  loam,  na- 
turally adapted  to  successful  growth  of  all  tame  grass,  and  all  crops 
usually  raised  in  this  latitude,  and  the  reasonable  price  of  land  and 
favorable  terms  given  by  the  land  company  of  Kelsey  &  Markham, 
continue  to  bring  rapidly,  continuous  additions  to  the  settlement. 
Steps  have  been  taken  for  the  organization  of  a  Baptist  church,  there 
being  thirteen  members  now  on  the  ground.  Other  religious  de- 
nominations are  well  represented,  but  we  all  join  heartily  and  pleas- 
antly in  the  support  of  a  union  Sunday  school.  Thus  we  are  work- 
ing together,  endeavoring  to  help  each  other  in  eVery  way.  I  be- 
lieve that  the  future  development  of  the  country  will  demonstrate 
that  the  expenditures  made  by  the  state  in  the  way  of  furnishing 
seed  and  assistance  to  this  farming  community  are  wisely  placed  and 
will  bring  returns  in  the  way  of  an  increase  of  taxable  property. 

Mrs.  Joseph  Frame,  her  six  children  and  husband  and  Mrs.  W. 
AT.  Branman,  were  about  three  miles  northwest,  gathering  cranber- 
ries at  the  time  of  the  fire.  The  husband,  becoming  alarmed  at  the 
dense  smoke  for  the  safety  of  his  hay  which  was  in  that  vicinity, 
remained  to  care  for  it,  while  Mrs.  Frame  and  her  six  children  and 
Mrs.  Branman  started  to  return  to  the  village.  They  were  cut  off 
by  the  fire,  about  a  mile  from  the  village,  and  took  refuge  first  in 
an  old  cellar  but  the  heat  and  smoke  soon  drove  them  from  this, 
and  they  saved  their  lives  by  reaching  the  creek,  which  was  near. 
The  two  ladies  and  six  children  spent  the  night  in  the  creek,  with 
only  one  blanket  as  protection,  reaching  the  village  the  next  morn- 
ing. We  were  greatly  alarmed  for  the  safety  of  Mr.  Frame,  who 
had  not  yet  returned,  but  our  suspense  was  relieved  by  his  reaching 
us  the  next  Sunday  after  the  fire.  He  had  saved  his  life  by  get- 
ting on  a  piece  of  ground  which  had  previously  been  burned  over. 

The  two  room  school  house  which  had  been  accepted  the  day  of 
the  fire,  was  burned.  It  cost  $1,000. 

In  the  village  was  a  saw  mill,  owned  by  Baty  &  Semour,  which 
had  been  erected  in  the  spring.  It  cut  25,000  feet  of  lumber  a  day, 
purchasing  the  logs  from  the  settlers. 

The  postmaster  was  Mr.  Berg,  who  kept  a  store. 

Mr.  Hans  Xelson,  who  lived  here  near  the  railroad  track,  was 
section  master  on  the  Great  Northern  line,  and  had  four  children. 
He  lost  his  home  and  everything  he  had  except  his  family. 

Mr.  Raymond,  wife  and  three  children;  Chas.  Anderson,  wife  and 


42  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIXES. 

three  children;  Fred  Molander,  wife  and  two  children  and  the  wife's 
brother  and  sister,  were  all  found  dead. 

The  fire  started  three  miles  southwest  of  Brook  Park. 

John  Powers,  William  Thompson  and  Frank  Lepengarver  were 
about  two  miles  south,  cutting  hay.  They  saved  their  lives  by  get- 
ting in  the  center  of  the  meadow,  back  firing  and  covering  them- 
selves with  wet  horse  blankets.  Mr.  Powers  heroically  declined  to 
turn  his  horses  loose  and  saved  them  also,  by  covering  'heir  heads 
with  wet  blankets.  After  the  intense  heat  had  subsided  Mr.  Powers 
groped  his  way  through  the  smoke  about  five  rods  to  the  creek  for  a 
pail  of  water;  when  coming  up  from  the  bank,  he  put  his  bdtid,  in 
the  darkness  and  the  smoke,  upon  a  deer,  which,  instead  of  fleeing 
from  him  with  fear,  followed  him  to  the  center  of  the  meadow  and 
stayed  some  little  time  near  them. 

Mr.  John  Gonya,  Joe  Chipris,  and  M.  C.  Anderson  were  with  me 
a  mile  and  a  half  northwest  of  the  village,  endeavoring  to  save 
Chas.  Collier's  building.  We  felt  safe  from  the  fact  that  there  was 
a  large  potato  patch  south  of  the  house,  in  which  we  could  take 
refuge  if  the  house  burned,  but  when  the  fire  reached  us,  the  heat 
was  so  great  that  it  drove  us  immediately  to  the  sheltering  side  of 
the  house,  and  to  our  dismay  the  entire  house  immediately  burst  into 
flames.  We  jumped  into  tubs  of  water,  filled  our  shoes,  wet  our 
clothing,  and  made  a  dash,  during  the  first  ten  rods  of  which,  the 
heat  was  so  intense  that  it  seemed  almost  impossible  for  us  to 
breathe  and  live  to  get  through  it.  From  this  rime  on  the  heat 
and  smoke  continued  to  be  almost  unbearable.  The  road  led 
through  green  tamaracks,  which  we  felt  certain  would  not  burn, 
but  upon  reaching  them,  we  found  to  our  horror  that  they  were  in 
flames.  Trees  had  fallen  across  our  road,  through  the  burning  tops 
of  which  we  were  obliged  to  clamber  as  fast  as  we  could.  While 
in  the  midst  of  this,  we  became  so  exhausted  we  had  to  lie  down, 
burying  our  faces  in  our  hands,  close  to  the  ground  in  the  water 
to  breathe.  Soon  after  starting  from  our  rest,  I  fell  and  was  passed 
by  Mr.  Anderson  and  Mr.  Gonya,  who  I  insisted  should  go  on  and 
save  themselves,  leaving  Joe  Chipris  and  myself.  After  resting  and 
proceeding  a  short  distance  farther,  Mr.  Chipris  became  so  .xhaust- 
ed  he  could  not  go  on,  but  by  words  of  encouragement,  he  continued 
for  a  short  distance,  and  then  insisted  he  could  not  go  another  step. 
I  gave  him  my  hand,  saying  \ve  would  stay  together  and  that  \ve 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  43 

would  yet  come  out  all  right,  as  we  were  nearly  through  with  the 
smoke,  and  I  felt  certain  that  upon  reaching  the  green  mead  )w,  a 
short  distance  ahead,  we  could  lie  down  and  get  our  breath.  As 
we  emerged  from  the  smoke  on  to  the  meadow,  we  could  see  noth- 
ing but  smoke  and  flames  burning  as  far  as  the  eye  could  see.  Feel- 
ing it  would  be  impossible  for  us  to  save  ourselves  by  continuing  in 
that  direction  we  turned  at  a  right  angle  to  the  west,  and  reached 
the  creek,  where  we  dropped  down  and  found  to  our  intense  relief 
that  the  heat  and  smoke  was  not  so  overpowering  but  that  we  could 
breathe.  We  remained  in  the  creek  bed  until  nearly  night,  and 
reached  the  village  about  half  past  ten,  yet  found  no  village  there, 
but  our  families  saved  in  the  box  cars  before  mentioned.  Messrs. 
Gonya  and  Collier  made  the  run  of  a  mile  and  a  half  through  a 
continuous  line  of  fire,  but  were  terribly  burned,  Mr.  Gonya  being 
in  the  St.  Cloud  hospital  several  months  before  he  was  able  to  walk, 
owing  to  the  dreadful  burns  on  his  feet.  When  near  the  pond  they 
became  separated.  Mr.  Gonya  saved  himself  by  reaching  a  moist 
piece  of  ground,  into  which  he,  as  much  as  possible,  buried  himself 
in  the  water.  Mr.  Collier  succeeded  in  reaching  the  pond  to  the 
intense  relief  of  his  wife  and  mother  who  were  there. 

The  fallen  trees  fell  to  the  northeast  from  the  southwest,  and  the 
green  saplings  were  bent  nearly  to  th  ground  by  the  wind,  and 
were  fixed  in  that  position  by  the  heat,  thus  giving  positive  evidence 
remaining  after  the  fire  that  it  came  from  the  southwest  to  the  north- 
east. 

Rev.  Wilkinson  was  subsequently  appointed  by  the  commission 
to  look  specially  to  the  needs  of  Brook  Park.  His  assistance,  and 
that  of  his  son,  Norman,  have  been  of  great  value  to  us,  and  their 
kindess  and  self  sacrifice  will  ever  be  remembered  by  our  people 
with  feelings  of  deep  gratitude.  They  have  assisted  us  in  manv 
ways  and  have  brought  much  elp  to  us  by  their  personal  efforts, 
entirely  independent  of  the  state  commission. 
End  of  Brook  Park 

It  was  found  that  the  section  lines  had  been  destroyed  by  the  fire, 
and  the  city  engineer  of  Minneapolis,  Mr.  F.  W.  Cappelen, 
kindly  sent  one  of  his  most  competent  assistants  to  run  new  lines. 
This  Mr.  David  H.  Forneri  did-  with  accuracy.  He  stayed  nearly 
a  week  at  Brook  Park  and  did  good  work. 


44 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


HINCKLEY. 

TT  IS  often  thought  in  Europe,  and  possibly  other  places,  that  new 
Western  towns  are  rough,  that  the  dollar  is  the  principal  thing. 
Hinckley  was  a  typical  place,  and  it  may  be  well  to  give  an 
idea  of  how  the  town  looked  before  September  last.  It  had  a  public 
school,  in  which  were  four  teachers.  Air.  D.  S.  Collins  was  prin- 
cipal, assisted  by  Miss  Vaughan,  Miss  Alaggie  Hawley  and  Miss 
Craig.  There  was  a  town  hall,  Odd  Fellows'  hall,  three  churches, 
five  hotels,  eight  stores,  and  restaurant,  two  railway  depots  and  a 
railway  round  house.  Which  shows  that  neither  culture  nor  religion 
had  geen  forgotten.  The  saw  mill  would  cut  two  hundred  thous- 
and feet  of  lumber  a  day.  Mr.  John  Owen  was  president  of  the 
mill  company,  H.  D.  Davis  vice  president,  Mr.  Putnam,  treasurer, 
Mr.  E.  B.  Putnam,  secretary.  The  postmaster  was  Air.  P.  Lawless. 

Its  town  officials  were  as  follows:  Le  Webster,  mayor,  John  K. 
Anderson,  Nels  Parsons  and  John  Alerrigan,  trustees;  Andrew  Stone, 
recorder,  S.  W.  Anderson,  treasurer,  and  R.  J.  Hawley,  policeman. 

Hinckley  was  one  of  the  lumbering  towns  in  the  county  of  Pine, 
and  had  last  year  more  than  twelve  hundred  people.  The  St.  Paul 
and  Duluth  railway,  and  the  Great  Northern  railway  both  go  through 
it,  each  had  helped  in  the  development  of  the  town.  Grindstone 
river  has  its  rise  in  the  Grindstone  lake,  acnd  flows  through  Hinck- 
ley. The  mill,  which  was  a  large  one,  employed  in  various  ways 
about  three  hundred  persons,  and  this  industry  brought  money 
into  the  pockets  of  Hinckley  people. 

For  years  Pine  county  had  been  renowned  for  its  timber  and  kings 
in  the  lumber  business  had  operated  here  and  in  the  surrounding 
county.  The  Brennan  Mill  Company  is  know  all  over  the  west  for 
their  operations  here.  Geo.  N.  Turner,  Minneapolis,  in  years  gone 
by,  cut  large  quantities  of  logs  in  this  locality  and  on  land  adjacent 
to  Kettle  river. 

The  Lairds  and  Nortons  of  Winona,  the  Staples  of  Stillwater,  and 
many  others,  all  had  had  large  interests  in  the  fire  district.  It  is 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  47 

said  that  one  firm  in  the  first  week  in  September,  had  a  loss  in  dam- 
age to  its  standing  pine  of  three  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The 
loss  total  in  the  period  covered  by  the  fire  and  the  time  of  recon- 
struction was  not  less  than  three  million  dollars.  It  may  have  been 
much  more. 

There  is  something  In  different  localities,  both  in  sea  and  land, 
which  man  has  :.ot  been  able  satisfactorily  to  explain.  Why  a 
tree,  or  a  certain  kind  of  trees,  will  grow  and  flourish  in  great  lux- 
uriance in  one  part  of  a  state,  and  will  not  grow  to  be  of  any  ac- 
count in  others  parts  of  the  same  state,  is  not  easy  to  understand. 
See  map  showing  the  pine  region  of  Minnesota.  This  map  was 
made  by  the  geological  survey,  and  kindly  lent  me  by  my  friend  Air. 
Beals,  who  has  charge  of  the  weather  reports  in  the  northwest.  A 
glance  at  this  map  will  show  how  an  all  wise  God  has  designed 
northern  Minnesota,  by  nature,  to  grow  pine,  and  this  it  does  in, 
great  plenty.  The  lines  marked  show  that  in  the  south  of  the  state 
pine  does  not  naturally  grow.  Left  alone,  the  north  will  be  cov- 
ered with  pine,  while  other  parts  of  the  state  will  have  no  pine  worth 
speaking  about,  and  if  any,  it  will  be  poor  and  stunted.  The  curi- 
ous may  find  things  analogous  to  this  in  the  sea.  There  have  been 
in  this  age  few  more  observant  men  than  that  prince  of  naturalists 
Frank  Buckland,  in  his  "Curiosities  of  Natural  History,"  sec- 
ond series,  page  295,  says:  "As  my  readers  are  probably  aware,  the 
great  sperm  or  spermaceti  whale  is  found  south  of  the  equator 
only,  and  according  to  Maury's  'Physical  Geography  of  the  Sea,' 
there  is  a  line  (marked  in  his  map)  across  which  ths  sperm  whale 
cannot  pass.  Nevertheless,  I  have  a  well  authenticated  case  of  a 
sperm  whale  (phyester  macrocephalus)  appearing  in  the  Bristol  chan- 
nel. I  have  also  a  good  engraving  of  a  whale  which  was  cast 
ashore  near  Antwerp,  A.  D.  1576.  This  creature  is  also  a  large 
sperm  whale."  So  we  see  whales  now  and  then  are  found  out  of 
their  natural  home;  so  are  pine  trees. 

Hinckley  is  in  the  geographical  situation  where  pine  is  at  its 
best,  best  for  all  purposes  for  which  pine  may  be  used,  and  so  when 
found  in  large  quantities  and  gets  on  fire,  the  heat  is  intense. 

All  round  Hinckley,  the  woods  were  as  dry  as  a  kiln,  and  ready 
for  one  terrible  bonfire,  which  came,  driven  by  a  fierce  wind;  no 
power  wielded  by  man  could  by  any  possibility  have  stopped  it  in 
its  onward  course  to  and  past  Hinckley.  The  danger  of  fire  had 


4g  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

been  long  seen  and  warning  had  been  given  of  possible  damage  to 
the  town. 

The  inhabitants  had  come  ro  think  that  no  danger  was  at  hand, 
but  on  Saturday,  September  first,  the  fire  reached  Mission  Creek 
and  swept  onwards  toward  the  north.  By  the  time  it  had  followed 
the  direction  of  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  railway  tracks  to  the 
Great  Northern  tracks  at  Hinckley,  nothing  but  certain  doom  was 
in  store  for  Hinckley;  every  intelligent  man  in  the  place  saw  and 
felt  this.  It  is  as  possible  to  stop  the  Gulf  stream,  or  an  eruption 
from  Mount  Vesuvius  as  it  would  have  been  to  stop  the  fire. 

It  was  the  fire  then  from  Mission  Creek  direction,  which  struck 
Hinckley,  and  everything  found  to  burn  added  to  the  heat  of  the 
flames  and  air.  Soon  the  fire  which  had  laid  Brook  Park  in  ashes 
joined  the  fire  which  at  Hinckley  had  laid  that  toun  in  ashes,  in 
one  avalanche  of  flame,  wind,  heat  and  storm,  all  of  which  did  their 
death  dealing  and  destructive  work.  The  depots,  hotels,  the  city 
public  buildings,  schools,  etc.,  simply  melted  down  in  a  few  mom- 
ents and  kegs  of  nails  which  had  been  on  sale  in  hardware  stores, 
were  found  one  melted  mass.  The  earth  and  air,  the  very  heavens 
above  men's  heads  appeared  to  be  on  fire;  it  was  only  in  flight,  wa- 
ter, or  on  the  train  that  escape  could  be  looked  for;  and  hew  little 
flight  could  help  many  is  to  be  read  in  the  ghastly  finding  of  the 
dead,  and  in  the  sights  and  sounds  which  made  strong  men  weep 
and  women  faint.  On  the  Monday  after  the  fire,  all  day  long,  Mr. 
Webber,  of  Rush  City,  with  a  band  of  helpers,  dug  trenches  and 
placed  in  them  the  dead.  More  than  one  hundred  that  day  were 
laid  thus  to  rest. 

Mr.  Chris  Best,  wrho  still  lives  at  Hinckley,  lost  his  father,  moth- 
er, sister  and  brother,  a  nephew  and  niec^,  and  with  his  own  hands 
dug  one  large  grave,  all  the  while  speaking  not  one  word.  He  was 
alone  on  one  side  of  the  cemetery,  all  available  men  being  at  work 
in  the  long  trench,  and  each  man  intent  either  upon  the  sorrows 
of  others  or  of  his  own.  I  found  two  men  to  take  up  the  work 
Best  was  doing  and  offered  to  pay  them.  They  said,  "We  should 
desgise  ourselves  if  we  took  pay  to  help  this  man."  The  hot  scald- 
ing tears  ran  down  his  face.  For  weeks  he  looked  for  his  brother 
whom  he  hoped  to  find.  Alas!  No  such  providence  for  him 
could  be,  as  without  a  doubt  he  was  amongst  the  unknowable  dead. 
Seven  persons  of  the  name  of  Best  met  death.  C.  Best  escaped  to 
tell  in  part  the  story,  and  to  his  latest  day  mourn  the  loss. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  49 

It  was  in  this  cemetery  on  that  Monday  night,  when  the  black- 
ened bodies  were  being  brought  in  on  wagons  that  Rev.  Feethan, 
M.  E.  minister,  Rev.  Mr.  Peterson,  Rev.  Mr.  Knudsen,  Rev.  Father 
Burke,  Rev.  Father  Bajec  and  the  writer  all  joined  as  one  in  the 
common  grief  with  one  common  purpose.  The  Bible  was  read, 
prayer  offered  and  an  address  given.  Xot  a  word  was  spoken  which 
could  jar  on  the  mind  of  any  reverent  man.  This  beautifully  shows 
how  much  religionists  of  all  names  have  in  their  great  heritage  of 
faith,  hope  and  love,  and  it  furthers  the  ends  of  Christian  charity. 
One  touch  of  nature  makes  the  world  akin.  Sorrow,  pain  and 
death  were  not  invented  by  priests,  nor  by  atheists,  and  they  cannot 
be  prevented  by  either  or  by  both. 

Death  speaks  all  languages;  it  comes  and  brings  sorrow  into  the 
souls  of  the  bereaved,  no  matter  what  their  faith  or  lack  of  faith. 
In  this  dark  day,  when  the  Methodist  minister  said,  "Lord  bless  us 
in  our  deep  sorrow,"  the  Roman  priest  said,  "Amen,"  when  the 
Presbyterian  read  "Xovv  is  Christ  risen  from  the  dead,"  and  went  on 
to  say  "Death  shall  be  swallowed  up  in  victory,"  every  heart  felt 
the  need  of  this.  When  the  Angelican  minister,  at  the  close  of  his 
address  said, 

"The  skv  is  flushed  with  gold, 

In  glad  celestial  warning, 
The  purple  clouds  are  backward  rolled, 

All  gloom  and  shadows  scorning. 
O'er  pain  and  grief  victorious 
Above  all  glories,  glorious, 
There  comes  an  Eastern  morning." 

every  heart  replied  through  tears  that  ought  to  be  true.  We  turned 
away  from  these  scenes  and  walked  in  different  directions.  Joseph 
Manix,  of  Minneapolis,  and  I  talked  to  a  grave  where  were  being 
laid  Mrs.  Martinson  and  her  four  children.  Her  husband  and  little 
son  stood  by.  The  lad  told  his  experience  at  the  Grindstone  river. 
John  is  a  bright  lad  about  eleven  years  old.  He  with  his  mother 
and  four  other  children  were  in  the  river,  and  he  someway  got  to 
the  gravel  pit,  after  he  had  seen  the  other  members  of  his  family 
fall  in  the  river.  John  said:  "I  was  in  the  river  with  my  sister. 
I  could  swim  well.  I  used  to  go  swimming  nearly  every  day.  She 
said,  'Come,  hold  me  up.'  The  heat  was  so  great  I  could  not  get 
to  her.  She  fell  in  the  water.  My  mother  was  with  us.  Someone 
said,  'Go  to  the  pit.'  I  do  not  know  how  I  got  there.  I  was  saved,, 
they  died." 


7)11 


MINNESOTA  FOPEST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  51 

I  gave  a  Swedish  Bible  to  Martinson,  which  had  been  found  by 
me.  It  was  partly  burned.  Afterwards  I  tried  to  buy  it  to  give 
to  the  Minneapolis  Public  Library,  he  set  too  much  store  by  it  to 
let  it  go.  The  gravel  pit  has  a  history.  Before  the  fire  the  Great 
Northern  railway  needed  to  fill  in  a  long  piece  of  ground  to  level 
their  track,  and  dug  this  pit,  which  is  over  three  acres  in  extent.  The 
dwellers  at  Hinckley  ever  since  have  said  it  was  a  damage  to  their 
town,  and  ought  never  to  have  been  made.  Some  of  the  people 
who  had  often  said  this  found  it  a  place  of  refuge  from  the  fire, 
and  thus  saved  their  lives;  so  little  do  men  know  what  may  be  of 
the  greatest  use  to  them.  We  passed  the  gravel  pit  on  our  way  to 
the  railway,  in  the  early  evening,  where  I  met  the  gntlemen  who 
were  going  to  Brook  Park  on  the  hand  car,  joined  them  and  did 
not  return  till  the  Friday  after. 

The  Rev.  Father  Lawler  is  a  Master  of  Arts  and  a  Bachelor  of 
Science.  He  is  a  Roman  Catholic  priest  in  the  burned  dis- 
trict, which  is  in  the  diocese  of  Duluth,  of  which  James  McGolrick 
is  bishop.  It  is  one  of  the  five  dioceses  forming  the  archdiocese 
of  St.  Paul,  over  which  John  Ireland  presides  as  archbishop,  thus 
being  the  metropolitan. 

Father  Lawler  had  services  at  Mission  Creek  and  at  Sandstone. 
By  his  diligence  and  faithfulness,  by  minding  his  own  business  and 
doing  good  as  he  had  opportunity,  he  had  gained  the  respect  and 
lived  in  the  love  of  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men.  Ever  since  he 
went  to  Hinckley  he  had  taken  an  active  interest  in  all  that  con- 
cerns the  public  good  of  that  place.  The  fire  department  had  been 
an  object  of  his  special  attention,  he  knew  perfectly  its  workings,  its 
available  power  and  its  needs.  It  is  well  known  that  the  alarm 
bell  never  rung  when  he  was  in  town  but  he  promptly  answered  it. 

On  September  first,  just  after  noon,  the  gong  was  rung,  which 
meant  that  the  firemen  were  to  meet  at  the  engine  house.  Promptly 
that  call  was  answered,  and  Father  Lawler  was  as  usual  on  hand. 
The  chief  said,  "It  looks  threatening  in  the  south  and  in  the  south- 
west. I  do  not  think  there  is  any  danger,  but  it  is  well  to  be  pre- 
pared for  an  emergency.''  And  it  was  decided  that  if  the  fire  came, 
it  would  come  by  way  of  Mission  Creek,  along  the  St.  Paul  and 
Duluth  road,  cross  the  Eastern  Minnesota  tracks  and  then  strike  the 
town.  It  was  agreed  that  the  place  to  stop  the  fire  if  it  should 
come,  was  at  this  point. 

The  fire  came.     All  was  in  readiness;  the  entire  available  force  of 


52  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

the  town  concentrated  here.      The  wind  blew  so  strong  that  it  was 
impossible  to  throw  water  any  considerable  distance  against  it. 

Father  Lawler  saw  that  Hinckley  was  doomed.  He  said,  "Es- 
cape for  your  lives,  Hinckley  will  be  destroyed!"  He  ran  toward 
the  town,  and  on  his  way  he  came  to  a  number  of  of  men  who  were 
hitching  up  teams.  He  said,  "For  heaven's  sake,  leave  all  you 
have!  Get  to  the  gravel  pit,  run  to  the  river!  Hinckley  will  be 
destroyed!"  One  man,  in  his  excitement,  said  what  in  other  times 
he  probably  would  not  have  spoken,  "To  hell  with  advice  of  that 
sort!"  Xot  one  of  that  party  who  took  the  old  post  road  to  Sand- 
stone are  known  to  have  escaped.  The  priest  ran  on  shouting  as 
did  Jonah  in  Nineveh  of  old,  "The  city  will  be  destroyed!  Escape 
for  your  lives!  Run  to  the  gravel  pit;  run  to  the  river!  Leave  all 
you  have,  save  your  lives!" 

Had  it  not  been  for  this  thoughtfulness,  the  loss  of  life,  great  as 
it  was,  would  have  been  greater.  The  people,  hearing  the  priest 
and  knowing  who  he  was,  as  fast  as  possible  gave  heed  to  his  warn- 
ing; and  soon  mothers  with  their  little  children  were  hurrying  to 
a  place  of  safety.  Having  warned  all  he  could  of  danger  and  di- 
rected them  to  places  of  safety,  and  being  nearly  exhausted,  (he  was 
just  recovering  from  a  severe  attack  of  typhoid  fever),  and  almost 
blind  with  the  smoke,  having  done  al  Ihe  could,  he  himself  got  to 
the  river,  where  he  stayed  until  the  relief  party  came. 

Such  words  and  such  deeds  require  no  comment;  they  tell  their 
own  story. 

THE  REV.  PETER  KNUDSEN. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Knudsen  was  a  Presbyterian  minister  of  the  church 
in  Hinckley,  who  did  missionary  work  in  all  the  country  round. 
He  is  a  Dane  by  birth.  On  the  day  of  the  fire  he  saw  the  danger1 
coming,  but  had  no  idea  that  the  disaster  would  be  as  great  as  the 
fact  have  proved. 

Grindstone  river  has  its  rise  in  Grindstone  lake,  and  flows  from 
east  to  west.  A  little  north  of  the  town  of  Hinckley  two  railroad 
bridges  span  this  river.  One  is  on  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  road 
and  is  north-west  of  the  town,  the  other  is  on  the  Eastern  Minne- 
sota railway  and  is  north-east  of  the  town.  Between  the  two  rail- 
way bridges,  is  another  bridge  over  which  foot  passengers  and  teams 
cross.  It  was  over  this  bridge  that  so  many  persons  sought  safety 
in  flight.  Here  they  crossed,  alas,  never  to  return.  Death  over- 
took them  before  they  could  reach  a  place  of  safety.  Grindstone 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  53 

river  is  shallow,  being  from  eighteen  inches  to  perhaps  five  feet 
deep,  and  many  who  sought  safety  in  its  shelter  lost  their  lives. 
Xear  to  the  Eastern  railway  was  an  open  space  in  which  many  per- 
sons took  refuge.  In  ordinary  forest  fires,  it  would  have  been  a 
wise  thing  to  do,  and  they  would  have  saved  their  lives;  but  in  this 
fire,  the  heat  of  which  in  some  parts  of  the  Eastern  railway  yards  at 
Hinckley  was  sufficiently  fierce  to  melt  steel,  open  places  were  of  no 
avail.  Ninety  persons,  on  and  near  this  spot,  laid  down  their  lives. 

It  was  a  hurricane  of  fire  which  swept  up  from  Mission  Creek 
and  Brook  Park,  eight  miles  away,  and  the  fire  had  gained  great 
strength  before  it  burned  Brook  Park,  having  come  from  the  south 
several  miles  ere  it  reached  that  fated  town.  At  Hinckley,  the  cur- 
rent of  fire  was  met  by  another  which  was  probably  as  strong,  which 
had  swept  up  from  Mission  Creek,  when  the  two  forces  joined,  hav- 
ing traveled  on  two  sides  of  a  triangle  to  a  point. 

Nothing  in  the  town  of  Hinckley  escaped,  except  a  little  closet 
north  of  the  Eastern  tracks,  not  far  from  the  round  house,  the  round 
house  itself  and  the  water  tank.  They  were  standing  in  the  yards 
where  were  a  number  of  cars  which  were  filled  with  wheat.  These 
all  took  fire.  So  great  was  the  heat  two  hundred  paces  north  of 
the  round  house,  that  the  rails  and  steel  wheels  of  the  cars  were 
melted  and  some  of  them  ran  liquid  steel. 

It  was  near  this  spot  that  ihe  freight  train,  going  north,  and  the 
passenger  train,  going  south,  met.  This  (passenger)  train  was  run 
by  conductor  H.  L.  Powers,  W.  B.  Best,  being  engineer,  Geo.  J. 
Ford  fireman,  and  C.  Beach,  brakeman.  Freight  train  No.  23, 
going  north  to  Duluth,  was  run  by  Conductor  W.  D.  Campbell,  Ed- 
ward Barry  was  engineer,  A.  R.  Thistle  fireman,  Charles  C.  Free- 
man, G.  W.  Gilham  and  A.  McLaughlin,  brakemen. 

Several  merchandise  cars  were  standing  on  the  track,  which  were 
then  coupled  to  the  passenger  train.  Best  was  not  in  front  of  the 
train.  Best  had  taken  in  water  at  the  water  tank  and,  backing  to 
the  train,  was  in  its  rear. 

It  is  one  of  the  rules  of  the  service  on  the  Eastern  Minnesota  road, 
that  when  difficulties  arise,  if  two  train  crews  have  to  join  forces, 
the  conductor  of  greater  rank  assumes  charge,  direction  and  hence 
responsibility,  which  is  shared  by  the  engineers  and  the  other  conduc- 
tors. It  was  in  this  way  that  Conductor  Powers  became  the  man 
in  authority  on  this  mixed  train,  but  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
these  crews  had  an  exceedingly  difficult  and  dangerous  task  in  a 


MIXXLSOTA   FOREST  FIHES 


MINNESOTA.  FOREST  FIRES.  55 

time  of  high  excitement,  with  the  forests  burning-  north  and  west, 
and  everything  in  that  part  of  the  country  burned  south  and  west, 
and  the  wind  blowing  a  gale,  and  the  north,  the  only  way  of  es- 
cape, and  that  likely  to  be  cut  off  in  an  incredibly  short  time,  the 
flames  south  seeming  to  reach  to  the  heavens,  the  smoke  increasing 
every  moment,  and  burnig  brands  being  carried  through  the  air 
and  showers  of  hot  cinders  falling;  surrounded  by  men,  women  and 
children,  some  of  whom  were  almost  frantic,  many  in  great  despera- 
tion, others  who  felt  that  the  last  hours  had  come.  These  men 
required  not  alone  strong  nerve,  they  needed  a  clear  eye,  firm  pur- 
pose and  unerring  judgment,  which  should  inform  them  how  long  to 
stay  so  as  to  save  the  largest  possible  number  of  lives.  Events 
proved  that  these  two  crews  were  equal  to  the  occasion.  It  may 
be  safely  said  that  if  the  days  of  mystics  are  passed,  the  days  of 
heroism  are  indeed  here.  All  this  speaks  well  for  the  discipline  and 
exact  direction  upon  the  Eastern  Minnesota  railway,  that  no  fa- 
tality occurred  at  that  time  and  place. 

The  old  Hebrew  prophet  said,  'The  lame  shall  take  the  prey."  It 
is  singular,  yet  well  attested,  that  the  first  man  who  got  on  board 
this  historic  train  was  Mr.  Hogan,  well  known  in  Hinckley  as  the 
man  who  wheels  himself  about  in  his  chair,  being  paralyzed.  '  He 
had  seen  the  danger — living  near  the  tracks — and  his  brother,  see- 
ing him  in  his  chair,  carried  him  to  the  train.  Hogan's  mother, 
running  to  the  train,  saw  her  son's  chair  and  pulled  it  -along  with 
her,  and  the  train  men,  with  that  sympathy  which  always  goes  out 
to  the  helpless,  put  it  on  board.  He  has  it  now  and  nothing  in 
the  world  could  be  more  useful  to  him. 

The  last  man  who  got  on  this  train  was  Mr.  Douglas  Greeley. 
It  will  stand  as  one  of  the  brightest  facts  in  connection  with  all  this 
disastrous  fire  that  four  hundred  and  seventy-six  souls  were  saved. 
The  work  of  Best  and  Barry  has  been  told  in  glowing  words.  There 
were  two  men  whose  names  have  been  little  heard,  who  deserve  to 
be  held  in  honor.  Their  names  are  O.  L.  Beach  and  Peter  Mc- 
Laughlin,  brakemen.  There  was  no  headlight  in  the  front  of  the 
tender  of  this  train,  and  these  men  stood  on  the  tender,  each  with  a 
lantern,  their  eyes  almost  blinded,  the  heat  intense,  the  danger  of 
death  imminent,  and  the  knowledge  of  that  fact  in  their  minds  was 
clearly  defined.  Never  for  an  instant  did  they  falter,  duty  with  them 
was  supreme,  and  no  small  share  of  triumph  of  that  fateful  day, 
belongs  to  them. 


56  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FTRES. 

Ford,  Thistle,  Gilham,  and  Campbell  all  deserve  the  admiration 
of  high  minded  men.  Mr.  Best  is  not  only  a  prudent,  fearless,  cool 
headed  man,  but  he  is  one  of  the  most  accomplished  engineers  in 
America.  His  skill  is  well  known  and  generally  acknowledged  in 
the  railway  world  of  the  Northwest. 

Powers,  the  conductor,  has  long  been  in  the  employ  of  the  East- 
ern road  and  by  the  authorities  is  highly  respected.  On  the  testi- 
mony of  competent  judges,  he  displayed  rare  qualities  in  this  fire. 
It  is  the  opinion  of  Judge  Geo.  B.  Young,  St.  Paul,  and  District 
Judge  Seagrave  Smith,  and  J.  Jamison,  of  Hennepin  district  court, 
who  were  going  from  Duluth  to  Minneapolis  on  his  train,  that  he 
acted  a  noble  part;  never  for  an  instant  did  he  lose  his  self  posses- 
sion. He  advised  every  one  to  keep  perfectly  cool;  saw  nothing 
but  harm  could  come  of  excitement;  helped  the  people  onto  the 
train;  kindly  but  firmly  refused  to  delay  for  a  moment  to  take  bag- 
gage on  board;  said  to  women  who  frantically  demanded  delay  that 
they  might  secure  some  household  goods,  "Mrs.  we  cannot  wait  for 
that  baggage.  We  will  gladly  take  you,  get  on  board.  It  is  your 
only  chance.  Lifted  the  children  on  ooard  with  the  deftness  and 
tenderness  equal  to  that  of  a  mother's  love. 

It  was  in  recognition  of  this  service  that  Mr.  Samuel  Hill,  presi- 
dent of  the  Eastern  road,  gave  to  Mr.  Powers  a  gold  watch  such 
as  few  railroad  presidents  carry,  inscribed  as  follows:  "Presented 
to  H.  D.  Powers  for  his  heroism  on  September  first,  1894."  On 
the  tenth  day  of  that  month,  the  Minneapolis  Times  had  the  follow- 
ing: 

CONDUCTOR  POWERS. 

Entitled  to  Great  Credit  for  His  Actions  at  the  Hinckley  Fire. 

An  eye  witness  of  the  scene  at  Hinckley  describes  it  as  follows : 
"To  understand  the  situation,"  he  began  yesterday,  "one  must 
know  of  the  exact  movement  of  the  trains  at  Hinckley  on  the  fate- 
ful day.  The  passenger,  consisting  of  six  coaches  containing  the 
steamship  passengers  from  the  Northwest,  pulled  into  Hinckley  at 
3:30  Saturday  afternoon.  The  fire  was  then  raging  in  the  east  end 
of  the  Hinckley  freight  yard  and  a  switchman  reported  the  fact  to 
Conductor  Powers.  On  a  side  track,  with  the  engine  at  the  farther 
end  of  the  train  consisting  of  three  freight  cars  and  a  caboose,  stood 
the  freight  train,  the  locomotive  in  charge  of  Engineer  Barry  and  the 
•train  controlled  by  Conductor  W.  D.  Campbell.  The  engine  was 


MIX XE SOT 'A  FOREST  FIRES.  57 

headed  down,  but  had  the  fight  of  way  over  the  track  towards  Duluth. 
Conductor  Powers  recognizing-  this  fact,  decided  upon  a  coup  to  se- 
cure the  right  of  way  back  to  Duluth  for  the  passenger,  as  well  as 
the  freight.  He  was  the  conductor  in  authority  and  he  ordered  Con- 
ductor Campbell  of  the  freight  to  couple  the  two  trains  together. 
This  was  done,  but  by  this  time,  the  smoke  had  become  blinding  and 
the  fire  was  making  rapid  headway  toward  the  train.  Engineer  Barry 
whistled  to  back  up,  but  Conductor  Powers  would  not  permit  him 
to  do  so,  and  the  train  remained  in  the  yard  at  Hinckley  until  the 
bridge  over  the  Sandstone  river  caught  fire  and  escape  was  nearly 
cut  off.  Then  it  was  that  Conductor  Powers  ordered  the  train  back 
towards  Duluth,  but  by  this  time  many  of  the  Hinckley  refugees  had 
gone  on  board.  On  the  other  side  of  the  creek  it  was  stopped  again 
and  more  persons  were  taken  aboard,  the  total  number  saved  being 
478.  Brakemin  Freeman,  of  the  freight,  acted  in  an  heroic  manner 
by  stopping  the  train  by  means  of  the  air  brake  when  it  was  started 
once,  through  a  misunderstanding  of  the  signals.  Brakeman  Beach 
was  the  man  who  rode  on  the  rear  end  of  the  locomotive  when  it  \vas 
backed  towards  Duluth,  at  the  imminent  peril  of  his  life." 

The  train  stopped  long  enough  at  Hinckley  to  take  all  who  could 
get  to  it.  It  departed  at  the  last  moment  it  could  have  left  safely. 
There  were  not  a  few  on  board  who  blamed  the  train  men  for  stay- 
ing so  long.  Experience  of  danger  of  many  kinds  in  long  years 
of  service,  had  taught  them  what  was  wise  to  do  and  how  to  do  it. 
It  must  be  a  great  satisfaction  to  everyone  on  board  that  train  to  feel 
that  none  were  left  behind,  who  possibly  could  have  been  saved. 

Pastor  Knudsen,  a  Dane  by  birth,  and  a  Presbyterian  by  convic- 
tion, the  minister  in  charge  of  the  church  at  Hinckley  and  missionary 
to  the  districts  round,  with  his  wife,  did  remarkable  service  this 
September  day.  It  is  not  without  deep  meaning  that  a  man  like 
Father  Lawler,  Roman  Catholic  priest,  said  to  me,  "Pastor  Knudsen 
is  a  royal  man.  I  firmly  believe  that  he  would  lay  down  his  life 
to  serve  another,  without  a  thought  that  such  a  deed  deserved  any 
special  credit."  He  and  his  wife  stood  together  when  the  fire  came 
towards  Hinckley.  "We  are  only  two,"  said  he  (they  have  no  family), 
"let  us  star.d  together  and  help  these  poor  women  with  little  children 
onto  the  tvain."  They  did  so.  The  train  was  crowded,  but  there  was 
room  for  this  man  and  his  wife.  He  said.  "Xo,  others  are  left  in  the 
village,  we  must  go  back  if  possible  and  help  them  to  the  gravel  pit." 
And  so  the  train  moved  through  blinding  smoke.  They  went  their 


58 


FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  59 

,vay  toward  the  town.  Twice  she  fell  and  then  she  said.  ''Let  us  lie 
down  and  die  together  here."  Just  then,  through  a  rift  in  the  smoke, 
she  saw  a  wagon,  and  by  one  desperate  effort  crept  under  it.  They 
were  sheltered  from  the  falling,  burning  cinders  until  the  wagon  took 
fire,  when  they  crept  to  the  gravel  pit  hard  by.  The  owner  of  the 
wagon,  his  wife  and  several  members  of  the  family  were  burned  to 
death. 

The  gravel  pit  is  an  excavation  made  by  the  Eastern  Minnesota 
Railway  when  that  road  was  built.  To  fill  up  the  valley  near  Hinck- 
ley,  they  took  the  gravel  and  left  a  hole  probably  three  acres  in  extent, 
in  the  bottom  of  which  is  said  to  be  a  spring.  At  the  time  of  the  fire 
there  was  about  one  acre  of  water.  The  people  of  Hinckley  ever 
since  the  earth  was  taken  from  this  spot,  have  said  it  disfigured  and 
was  an  injury  to  the  town.  In  the  day  of  greatest  stress,  it  was  as  the 
"shadow  of  a  great  rock  in  a  weary  land,"  it  was  a  "shelter  from  the 
storm"  of  fire.  Not  one  who  got  into  it  perished,  and  as  if  by  uner- 
ring instinct,  many  animals  sought  shelter  there  and  saved  their  lives. 
When  the  fire  was  passed,  a  tin  pail  was  found  at  a  water  tank  on  the 
Eastern  Railway.  Mrs.  Knudsen,  like  most  Western  missionary's 
wives,  is  a  woman  of  practical  sense;  she  milked  a  cow.  A  number 
of  musk  melons  were  found  at  the  edge  of  the  gravel  pit.  They 
cut  the  insides  out  and  make  cups  and  the  children  drank  from  them, 
the  first  food  they  had  after  the  fire.  Mr.  Knudsen  and  his  wife  lost 
their  home  and  all  they  had  which  could  be  lost;  but  hope,  faith,  love 
and  character  they  did  not  lose.  Their  record  is  on  high  and  their 
judgment  is  with  the  Almighty  who  does  not  forget  the  deeds  of  his 
servants. 

The  subjoined  letter  gives  a  good  idea  of  several  scenes  through 
which  the  parties  mentioned  passed: 

PINE  CITY,  MINN.,  Feb.  25,  1895. 

Rev,    William    Wilkinson,  Minneapolis,  Minn.: 

Dear  Brother:  Pardon  my  delay  in  answering  yours  of  Feb.  7th. 
I  have  been  away  from  home.  The  Methodist  minister's  name  who 
took  part  in  burying  the  dead  at  Hinckley,  Monday,  September  3d, 
is  Rev.  T.  H.  Feetham;  at  present  he  is  in  Duluth.  I  have  asked 
the  Reverends  Peterson,  Finstrom,  and  Father  Bajec,  of  Rush  City, 
to  write  you  and  send  photographs.  In  explanation  to  your  question 
concerning  myself  and  wife,  permit  me  to  say,  I  found  the  water- 
melons in  a  garden  just  above  the  gravel  pit  and  brought  them  with 


60  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

me  down  to  the  survivors  in  the  pit.  Some  of  the  rinds  were  hol- 
lowed out  and  served  for  cups,  out  of  which  we  drank  water  while  in 
the  pit.  My  wife  milked  the  cow  in  a  pail  found  in  the  Eastern  Min- 
nesota Railroad  pumphouse,  and  the  depot  agent,  Mr.  George  Tur- 
geon  held  the  cow  while  she  did  the  milking,  and  together  they  car- 
ried the  milk  to  the  children  and  others.  It  would  pay  you  for  the 
trouble  to  come  to  Pine  City  some  day  and  get  the  experience  of  the 
survivors  that  live  here, — Messrs.  Barden,  Russell,  Wright,  Cameron, 
Wingren  and  others.  Had  I  time  I  would  write  it  up  for  you.  Be 
kind  enough  to  see  that  our  names  (my  wife's  and  mine)  are  spelled 
right  in  your  book.  Yours,  in  great  haste, 

P.  KXUDSEN. 

P.  S.     The  cow  my  wife  milked  belonged  to  Mr.  Wingren. 
REPORT  OF  J.  W.  STOCKHOLM. 

I  was  working  at  the  Brennan  Lumber  Company's  store.  We 
were  engaged  in  supplying  the  teams  with  empty  barrels,  as  all 
the  teams  were  hauling  water  in  barrels  along  the  Snake  River 
Road,  intending  to  fight  the  fire  back  from  the  lumber  yard  and  that 
part  of  the  town.  It  was  burning  very  badly  in  the  west  part  of  the 
town  all  the  forenoon  in  the  swamps.  At  2:30  things  began  to  look 
pretty  bad,  yet  we  did  not  think  it  serious. 

I  went  to  my  home,  one  block  east  of  the  gravel  pit  and  told  my 
people  to  act  quickly  if  it  should  come  to  look  pretty  bad,  and  have 
a  few  barrels  of  water  ready  if  the  fire  should  attack  the  fence  from 
the  woods.  I  went  back  to  the  store, — the  way  through  the  woods 
over  the  crossing  of  the  St.  Paul  &  Great  Northern  Railway.  The 
wind  commenced  to  blow  very  hard,  and  going  along  the  way  I  could 
hardly  keep  my  eyes  open.  Upon  reaching  the  crossing,  I  com- 
menced to  realize  to  some  extent  that  the  town  was  in  danger.  The 
wind  was  still  rising,  bringing  into  my  face  a  hot  air  like  standing 
before  a  furnace.  I  turned  back  just  as  the  Great  Northern  passen- 
ger train  pulled  into  the  yard  by  the  pump  house.  I  met  Mr.  Rich- 
ner  of  the  Eastern  Hotel,  and  he  said  he  thought  the  train  would 
never  get  through.  (That  was  the  same  train  which  later  brought 
us  out  of  the  burning  town).  I  went  up  town  along  the  front  street 
towards  the  store,  meeting  on  my  way  the  Brennan  Company's  type- 
writer, S.  Mason,  and  Charles  Anderson,  bookkeeper  of  the  Pine  City 
Bank,  who  both  perished  near  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  depot.  I  met 
Widow  Resbery  and  her  four  children.  She  asked  me  what  to  do 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  61 

and  where  to  go.  I  told  her  to  go  toward  my  home,  and  as  soon  as 
I  had  been  in  the  store  I  would  follow  up.  I  entered  the  store,  Mr. 
Albricht,  the  bookkeeper,  and  I  being  the  last  of  the  employes  left. 
We  made  up  our  minds  the  time  had  come  to  get  out.  I  went  out 
of  the  front  door,  finding  Mrs.  Resbery  there  yet  where  I  had  left 
her.  I  saw  the  time  for  argument  was  getting  short,  and  at  the 
same  moment  my  nephew,  Hans  Hanson,  from  Chicago,  a  boy  of 
sixteen  years,  visiting  us  at  that  time,  came  on  his  bicycle,  telling  us 
everything  was  taking  fire  over  at  my  home,  and  to  get  over  there 
as  fast  as  possible.  I  then  took  Johnny  Resbery,  a  boy  of  three,  in 
my  arms,  told  Hans  to  take  the  baby,  and  Oscar,  a  boy  of  eleven,  and 
Mrs.  Resbery  and  her  daughter,  a  girl  of  nine,  followed  up,  and  we 
went  toward  the  Eastern  Depot,  which  is  on  the  way  toward  my 
home. 

Arriving  there  the  people  were  crowding  in  to  get  on  the  train 
which  had  just  pulled  into  the  depot.  Leaving  the  boy  there,  I  went 
across  the  gravel  pit  to  my  home  and  found  that  my  wife,  three 
children  and  two  sisters  were  not  there.  The  fire  was  rolling  over 
the  place  and  I  got  out  at  once,  and  running  back  across  the  pit,  in- 
quired for  my  family  and  found  out  by  Asel  Hanson,  who  perished, 
that  my  wife  was  going  north  on  the  Great  Northern  tracks.  Run- 
ning after  them,  I  got  them  turned  back  and  calculated  to  go  to  the 
gravel  pit.  The  wind  was  now  blowing  fearfully  and  the  fire  and 
cinders  were  blackening  our  faces,  as  we  had  to  come  back  against 
coal.  We  backed  up  to  Skunk  lake,  and  just  before  I  got  to  the 
Knudsen  and  Mrs.  Knudsen. 

We  agreed  to  go  to  the  pit.  but  at  that  time  my  people  got  so 
much  ahead  of  me  that  they  secured  the  first  box  car  on  the  train  on 
the  Great  Northern,  which  was  then  coming  along  side  of  the  gravel 
pit.  The  train  brought  us  safe  to  Duluth  where  we  were  all  received 
with  open  arms,  and  all  our  needs  supplied.  If  honor  be  due  to  any 
men  who  stand  by  their  posts,  firm  and  collected  in  the  hour  of 
danger,  a  goodly  share  is  due  the  two  crews  of  trainmen  who  took 
the  refugees  from  the  burning  town  of  Hinckley  to  Duluth  over  the 
Great  Northern  Railway. 

Mr.  G.  I.  Albricht,  who  was  bookkeper  for  the  Brennan  Lum- 
ber Company,  says  that  he  lived  in  Hinckley  over  five  years. 

"Three  years  ago  there  was  talk  about  the  possible  burning  of 
Hinckley,  but  all  the  summer  of  1894  I  never  thought  it  probable  that 
Hinckley  would  ever  burn  up,  and  not  until  after  3  p.  m.,  on  Satur- 


62 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  63 

day,  September  ist,  did  I  think  for  an  instant  that  the  town  would 
go,  although  I  sent  my  wife  and  two  children  to  Pine  City  by  the 
train  which  left  Hinckley  about  I  o'clock.  I  thought  it  would  be 
better  for  them  to  go,  lest  the  worst  should  happen. 

At  about  3,  I  looked  south  and  west  and  saw  the  whole  surround- 
ings were  terrible.  The  air  grew  hotter  and  dryer  every  moment. 
The  smoke  was  by  this  time  being  driven  by  the  wind.  I  saw  by 
3 130  it  was  not  possible  to  save  the  town.  I  went  for  my  wife's  sister 
who  had  put  up  trinkets,  silverware  and  other  things;  her  name  is 
Annie  Wescott.  I  said,  "Annie,  leave  those  things  and  come  along 
with  me,  if  we  save  our  lives  that  is  all  we  may  expect  to  do."  I  in- 
tended to  send  her  to  Pine  City  on  the  train  due  about  4  o'clock. 
\Yhile  we  stood  waiting  near  the  depot,  the  fire  appeared  to  come  in 
a  sheet  of  flame  over  the  town  and  to  drop  on  our  left  hand  side, 
as  we  faced  Pokegama.  It  appeared  as  if  the  very  air  was  on  fire. 
We  made  a  rush,  reached  the  Eastern  train  and  were  saved." 

What  MR.  DOUGLASS  GREELEY  sa_\s: 

I  kept  the  Morrison  Hotel  at  Hinckley,  which  was  the  largest 
hotel  there,  and  had  50  bed-rooms;  kept  6  girls  and  4  men 
at  the  time  of  the  fire.  Had  resided  six  years  at  Hinckley,  was 
elected  county  auditor  in  November,  on  the  Democratic  ticket.  I 
had  a  family  of  one  child,  my  mother,  Mrs.  Hannah  P.  Greeley,  was 
visiting  me  on  September  ist,  with  my  sister  and  her  two  children. 

September  ist,  at  noon,  it  began  to  look  scarey;  in  the  south,  to- 
ward Mission  Creek,  it  looked  bad.  There  was  a  very  hot  smoke, 
densely  black,  and  a  light  wind.  The  train  from  Duluth  to  St.  Paul  was 
more  than  an  hour  late.  I  sent  all  my  relatives  away  on  the  train. 
I  did  not  go  to  bed  and  fall  asleep  you  may  be  sure.  I  went  south 
several  times  to  the  Eastern  tracks.  It  kept  getting  worse  every 
moment.  The  sun  broke  through  the  smoke,  and  I  thought  the 
worst  had  passed.  William  Ginden,  who  was  ex-mayor,  and  at 
this  time  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  stood  on  the 
corner.  I  stood  near  my  hotel.  He  had  been  down  near  the  round 
house,  when  his  son,  a  lad  in  his  early  teens,  came  up  and  said, 
"Father,  do  you  want  mother  to  leave  home  and  seek  a  place  of 
safety?  She  wants  to  know."  He  replied,  "Willie,  run  home  and 
tell  mama  the  danger  is  passed."  He  ran  north  to  his  home  to  tell 
his  mother.  William  Ginden  and  all  his  family  perished. 

I  went  into  the  hotel;  all  the  girl  help  were  excited.     One  of  them, 


64  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

Ida  Janda,  who  worked  in  the  dining  room,  asked,  "What  shall  we 
do,  what  shall  we  do?" 

I  said,  "Stay  here  till  I  tell  you  to  leave.  You  will  be  all  right.  I 
will  go  out  and  will  tell  you  presently  what  is  the  best  to  do."  I  went 
to  view  the  situation  and  saw  that  hope  was  gone,  and  went  back 
quickly  and  said:  "Now  is  the  time  to  save  ourselves."  We  all 
left  the  hotel  by  the  front  door,  seven  sad  souls.  We  met  at  the 
corner  John  Brodie,  who  used  to  board  with  me;  he  said,  "There  is 
a  train  on  the  Eastern  line  waiting."  I  said,  "Go  with  Mr.  Brodie;" 
and  ran  back,  put  my  money  into  the  safe,  locked  it,  and  when  the  fire 
was  over,  it  was  there  with  all  my  papers.  The  safe  was  the  property 
of  William  O'Brien,  who  was  engaged  in  lumbering,  and  I  kept  his 
books  and  had  done  so  for  six  years.  I  left  the  hotel,  knowing  the 
desperation  of  the  situation,  and  as  I  passed  the  gate  at  the  back  of 
the  barn  yard,  at  the  rear  of  the  hotel,  I  saw  D.  Fortin,  C.  O.  Carlson, 
Albert  Xudewood  and  Otto  Skamser,  all  of  whom  worked  for  me, 
turning  my  two  driving  horses  and  four  cows  out  of  the  barn.  I 
began  to  help  them  and  we  got  the  horses  into  the  street.  Xude- 
wood, Skamser  and  Carlson  now  left.  Fortin  and  I  now  were  joined 
by  Charlie  Xehland,  who  helped  us  to  get  the  remaining  cows  out. 
Just  then  the  horses  came  back  at  full  speed.  They  had  become 
frightened.  I  took  one  horse  and  Fortin  one,  and  put  bridles  on 
them.  Xehland  took  a  buggy  and  ran  with  it  to  the  gravel  pit,  and 
saved  himself  and  it;  I  have  it  now. 

Fortin  and  I  rode  up  north  a  block  on  the  front  street  and  turned 
east,  leaving  town.  As  we  got  to  the  Eastern  track,  we  saw  the 
flames  from  the  houses  east  of  the  track  and  had  to  turn  back  to 
the  wagon  bridge  over  Grindstone  river,  which  was  about  eighty 
feet  long,  but  there  was  hardly  any  water  in  the  river  here.  We 
made  for  the  train  on  a  bee  line. 

"As  we  went  through  some  willows,  I  said  to  Fortin,  'We  are  gone 
now.'  He  said,  'Yes,  I  guess  we  are/  I  at  this  moment  heard  some- 
one call.  I  looked  and  saw  Xudewood,  on  hundred  feet  away  in  the 
door  of  a  box  car,  and  I  never  heard  a  sound  so  welcome.  Barry, 
the  engineer,  had  seen  us  and  stopped.  We  were  the  last  men  on 
that  train,  and  near  that  spot  over  one  hundred  dead  were  found. 
The  two  horses  we  left  were  burned  to  death  near  there.  The  next 
morning  the  four  cows  turned  up  all  right.  They  had  not  a  hair 
singed;  it  is  probable  they  escaped  in  the  gravel  pit.  From  the  box 
car  door  in  which  I  stood,  as  the  train  moved  off,  I  could  sec  tiie 
roof  of  Brennan's  mill  fall  in. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  65 

"From  that  time  on,  darkness  enveloped  the  train.  In  the  car 
some  were  on  their  knees  praying,  some  crying,  and  some  asking 
for  relatives.  The  children  did  not  realize  what  was  taking  place,  or 
how  much  the  fire  meant  to  them.  At  Sandstone  we  stopped.  At 
Partridge  the  citizens  brought  water,  lamps  and  lanterns.  None  cf 
the  residents  left  on  our  train  and  in  fifteen  minutes  their  city  was 
aflame  and  soon  in  utter  ruins.  We  reached  Duluth  safely  and  re- 
ceived a  royal  welcome.  I  went  to  the  house  of  my  brother,  John 
Greeley,  who  is  general  manager  of  the  Keystone  Investment  Com- 
pany. 

"I  got  on  the  Eastern  train  which  left  September  2d,  at  5  o'clock 
in  the  morning.  On  it  were  Mr.  Thorne,  superintendent;  Mr.  Dev- 
lin, roadmastetr;  Dr.  Stephan,  Mr.  Albright,  Mr.  Dunn  and  Mr. 
Murphy. 

"We  came  slowly  along,  every  now  and  then  a  burnt  tree  had  fallen 
over  the  line.  In  the  afternoon,  early,  we  found  the  first  bridge 
burned  out,  about  one  mile  north  of  Partridge.  We  all  walked  to 
Sandstone,  except  as  many  traveling  men  as  could  get  upon  a  hand- 
car. They  preceded  us  to  that  town ;  when  we  walked  there,  we  saw 
the  desolation  of  the  place.  In  our  journey,  we  had  passed  many 
dead  animals,  rabbits,  deer  and  birds.  We  now  stood  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  Kettle  river,  and  saw  on  the  south  side  the  poor-  home 
less,  helpless,  penniless  people  who  were  left.  We  forded  the  river  a 
mile  below  the  bridge,  and  came  thus  into  Sandstone.  We  saw  the 
ruin,  and  before  we  had  left  had  seen  forty-five  dead  bodies, — age 
and  youth,  women  and  children,  mingled  in  one  common  death. 

"We  came  out  on  the  other  side  and  journeyed,  sad  men,  to  Hinck- 
ley.  All  the  others  went  back  north.  We  were  the  first  parties  to 
get  back  to  Hinckley  of  all  who  left  that  ill-fated  spot  on  Saturday. 

"It  was  now  past  5  o'clock  Sunday  night,  and  \ve  saw  what  the 
disaster  here  was;  there  was  not  a  house  or  building  left  standing 
north  of  the  Gushing,  and  nothing  south  of  it  except  the  water  tank, 
coal  shed  and  round  house.  The  relief  train  had  come  in  from  the 
south  and  had  brought  all  kinds  of  help  from  Pine  City,  Rush  City, 
and  points  on  the  line.  Many  of  the  dead  had  been  picked  up  and 
some  had  been  placed  in  boxes  and  coffins  which  had  been  sent  up. 
Engineer  Barry  behaved  well,  as  did  all  the  trainmen. 

FREDDY  ROBINSON. 

This  boy  was  rescued  by  his  aunt,  Mary  Robinson.  His  mother 
died  two  years  ago,  and  his  father,  Peter  Robinson,  and 


66 


MTKKESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


T 


C.  H.  STROMBERG. 


CHR.  ARVOLD. 


GEO.  C.  DUNLAP. 


PAUL  JAMES  DULUTH  CROCKER. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  67 

uncle,  Xels  Robinson,  both  perished  in  the  fire  September  ist.  The 
dwelling  of  Peter  Robinson  was  on  the  west  side  of  town,  and  as  the 
fire  broke  in  over  the  place  from  the  woods,  he  took  his  only  boy  in 
his  arms,  rescued  him,  and  gave  him  to  his  aunt,  and  told  them  to 
start.  He  and  his  brother,  Nels  Robinson,  yet  lingering,  for  some 
reason  unknown  to  Mary  Robinson  (which  proved  to  be  fatal,  as 
they  both  perished).  Mary  Robinson  took  the  three-year-old  boy  in 
her  arms  and  carried  him  through  the  burning  town  and  reached 
the  Eastern  depot  just  in  time  to  board  the  train  pulling  out  from 
the  depot,  and  reached  Duluth  in  safety. 

CHARLES  M.   STOMBERG. 

His  father,  mother,  two  brothers  and  two  sisters  lived  at  Hinck- 
ley at  the  time  of  the  fire.  They  came  out  on  the  St.  Paul  & 
Duluth  train  and  started  up  track.  In  dense  smoke  he  lost  them  and 
found  refuge  in  a  section  well.  Next  morning  he  found  the  corpses 
of  the  rest  of  the  family  burned  to  a  crisp  altogether,  being  recog- 
nized only  by  watch,  jewelry,  etc. 

He  is  nineteen  years  old,  lives  at  Duluth,  and  the  local  relief  com- 
mittee are  taking  an  interest  in  him. 

B.  C.  BARTLETT. 

Proprietor  of  Eating  House,  Hinckley,  prior  to  September  ist,  1894. 

I  have  been  keeping  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  Railroad  Eating 
House  about  fifteen  years.  The  day  of  the  Hinckley  fire,  Sep- 
tember ist,  1894,  my  family  and  myself  decided  about  5  or  10 
minutes  before  4  o'clock  p.  m.,  to  leave  our  house.  At  that  time 
everything  in  sight,  fences  and  buildings,  were  taking  fire.  The 
heat  had  been  very  intense  and  it  had  been  very  dark  for  some  time 
before,  and  the  air  as  high  as  we  could  see  seemed  to  be  on  fire;  the 
wind  blowing  a  gale  and  a  terrible  noise  as  of  a  great  many  wagons 
driven  over  a  rough  road. 

We  got  the  members  of  our  family  together  and  attempted  to  go  to 
the  gravel  pit,  but  in  consequence  of  heat  from  the  burning  buildings, 
which  lined  the  street  leading  to  it,  and  the  strong  wind,  we  decided 
we  could  not  get  there.  We  then  started  with  the  wind  and  with  our 
backs  to  the  heat,  north  on  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  Railroad  tracks. 
About  one  and  one-half  miles  from  Hinckley,  we  met  the  Limited 
train,  Conductor  Sullivan  and  Engineer  Root,  and  after  telling  them 
the  situation  at  Hinckley,  we  got  on  the  train  and  rode  back  to 
Skunk  Lake.  We  then  got  off  and  walked  about  eight  miles  to 


68  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

Finlayson,  where  we  were  picked  up  by  the  relief  train  from  Willow 
River.  When  we  got  on  the  train  near  Hinckley  the  train  was  on 
fire  the  whole,  length  of  it,  and  by  the  time  we  reached  Skunk  Lake, 
the  windows  on  the  west  side  were  nearly  all  broken  cut  by  the  heat, 
and  the  cars  were  burning  very  fast.  The  coal  in  the  tender  was 
blazing  high.  We  decided  we  could  not  live  to  go  into  the  shallow 
water  at  Skunk  Lake,  so  we  walked  on  again. 

Of  the  party  of  about  fifty  persons  that  left  Hinckley  when  we  did, 
about  thirty-three  perished  between  Hinckley  and  Skunk  Lake,  and 
without  doubt  we  would  have  lost  our  lives  had  we  not  had  the  ride 
on  the  Limited  train  to  Skunk  Lake,  and  also  that  we  determined 
from  the  start  not  to  get  outside  of  the  iron  rails.  We  had  to  avoid 
inhaling  tke  heated  air,  and  could  not  open  our  eyes,  and  our  only 
guide  was  to  keep  inside  the  rails  on  the  track.  Three  girls  em- 
ployed by  us  in  the  eating  house  were  separated  from  us  at  the  start 
and  were  burned;  three  kept  with  us  and  were  saved.  One  of  my 
sons,  George  D.  Bartlett,  got  out  on  the  Eastern  Minnesota  Railroad 
train  with  Conductor  Powers  and  Engineer  Best;  two  sons,  H.  S. 
and  T.  W.  Bartlett,  went  to  the  gravel  pit  and  were  saved. 

THE  REV.  FATHER  BURKE. 

The  Rev.  Father  Burke,  who  was  active  in  his  ministry  of  help 
to  the  living,  and  who  also  took  part  in  the  burial  of  the  dead, 
is  a  man  with  a  history. 

In  1872,  he  went  to  St.  Hyacinthe's  College,  Canada,  for  the  dio- 
cese of  Rochester,  New  York;  there  he  became  acquainted  with 
Cardinal  Vaughan's  work  amongst  the  colored  people  of  the  South, 
and  was  one  of  the  first  American  youths  who  set  out  for  England 
to  prepare  for  that  glorious  mission.  For  five  years  he  was  trained 
in  the  College  of  St.  Joseph's,  London.  He  was  ordained  priest  by 
Cardinal  Vaughan  on  December  2ist,  1878.  Whilst  arrangements 
were  being  made  for  departure  to  America,  he  was  sent  over  the 
Irish  Channel  to  the  Emerald  Isle,  to  make  known  to  the  faithful 
and  others  the  work  of  the  -missions,  and  raise  money  for  them.  He 
was  there  but  a  few  days  when  Cardinal  Vaughan  was  asked  to  send 
priests  to  Afghanistan  as  chaplains  to  the  British  forces  engaged  in 
war  in  that  wild  land,  and  after  the  fighting  had  ceased  they  were 
to  tell  the  story  of  the  gospel  to  the  natives.  So  he  and  others  start- 
ed, by  authority,  to  the  field  of  work  in  Asia.  This  was  the  first 
Christian  mission  among  the  Afghans. 

They  left  London,  England,  on  the  isth  day  of  April,  1879,  and 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FTRES.  69 

journeyed  through  India  all  that  summer,  in  the  midst  of  heat  and 
cholera  and  suffering,  too  great  for  pen  to  tell.  The  party  got  to 
Kandahar  in  August. 

A  priest  died  in  the  Khyber  Pass  and  Father  Burke  had  to  go  and 
take  his  place  and  work;  whilst  on  the  way,  campaign  number  two 
began,  so  he  had  to  go  on  with  the  soldiers  and  join  General 
Roberts,  who  was  on  his  way  to  Kabul.  It  was  October  4th  when 
the  father  got  to  the  famous  pass  at  Khyber.  No  tongue  can  tell 
the  hardships  of  the  nine  months  passed,  at  night  on  the  saddle, 
over  deserts,  mountains  and  passes,  heat  one  hundred  and  thirty  in 
the  coolest  bungalow  at  the  foot  of  the  Himalaya  Mountains;  here 
cholera  was  holding  sway  on  all  sides.  Not  even  a  native  of  the 
country  was  allowed  to  travel  for  thre«  months.  No  food  but  hard 
tack,  and  muddy  water  for  drink,  with  the  hot  ground  for  a  bed,  in 
danger  of  being  stabbed  by  Patan  scimetars,  as  were  many  soldiers 
in  the  sixty-sixth  regiment. 

For  distinguished  services,  this  priest  received  a  bounty  of  five 
hundred  rupees  and  the  Victoria  medal.  The  next  five  years  were 
spent  in  the  presidency  of  Madras,  as  missionary  amongst  the  Tele- 
ger  population,  to  whom  the  Afghan  priests  were  sent  when  they 
had  to  quit  Afghanistan.  For  seven  years  he  was  at  work  amongst 
the  colored  people  of  Washington,  D.  C.,  U.  S.  A.  It  is  surprising 
how  many  men  who  have  a  record  for  service  on  many  fields,  met 
in  this  Pine  County  disaster.  The  following  letter  shows  how  the 
Rev.  Father  Burke  looked  at  Hinckley,  when  he  stood  there  in  his 
readiness  to  do  all  in  his  power  as  man  and  priest.  It  is  such  men  as 
he  who  are  an  honor  to  the  churches  at  whose  altars  they  minister. 

WHITE  BEAR,  MINN.,  Jan.  10,  1895. 
MY  DEAR  MR.  WILKINSON: 

I  am  very  glad  that  you  are  to  write  a  history  of  the  great  forest 
fires.  I  am  sure  that  you  will  do  justice  to  the  subject,  though  no 
pen  can  describe  the  horrors  of  those  early  September  days.  I  never 
shall  forget  the  evening  when  we  stood  in  the  Hinckley  cemetery, 
before  the  long  trenches  in  one  part  of  which  men  were  digging, 
and  in  another  part  men  were  reverently  placing  the  poor  charred 
remains  of  the  dead,  while  a  little  in  the  distance  were  small  groups 
of  persons  bun-ing  their  lost  and  longed  for.  How  beautiful  and 
comforting  the  words  of  Holy  Scripture  of  prayer  and  praise.  The 
night  was  coming  and  nothing  could  be  seen  except  the  blackened 
landscape  and  the  burned  pine  stumps  all  black  and  bare.  I  saw 


70  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FTRES. 

the  horrors  of  the  Afghan  war  and  passed  through  them,  but  never 
beheld  a  sadder  scene  than  this. 

Do  you  know  that  my  friend  Jim  Root  drove  the  engine  which 
took  Gen.  Sherman  on  his  famous  ride  to  the  sea?  This  would  make 
an  interesting  fact  to  place  in  your  book.  When  it  is  published, 
please  forward  me  two  copies,  for  which  I  will  promptly  send  the 
money.  I  may  want  more. 

With  kindest  regards,  I  am  very  truly  yours, 

R.  T.  BURKE. 


SAXDSTOXE. 

GANDSTONE  is  a  well-known  town  on  the  eastern  division  of 
^  the  Great  Northern  Railway.  It  was  surrounded  by  dense  pine 
forests,  from  which  vast  quantities  of  logs  had  been  cut;  yet  more 
remained  to  grace  the  landscape  and  bless  and  enrich  the  lumber- 
man. 

A  hardy  class  of  settlers  had  taken  up  their  abode  in  the  town 
and  upon  the  lands  adjacent,  in  the  hope — not  only  of  making  a 
living,  but  of  becoming  well-to-do. 

Kettle  river,  in  its  winding  course,  adds  peculiar  beauty  to  the  place, 
and  the  high  steep  banks  on  either  side,  give  to  it  a  rugged  appear- 
ance, which  rises  almost  into  the  majestic  and  picturesque. 

In  these  banks  and  under  the  town  lies  what  may  be  fairly  named 
one  of  the  very  best  varieties  of  building  stone  in  the  land.  And  in 
the  quarries,  men  who  desire,  can  find  work  during  the  greater  part 
of  the  year.  This  stone  is  in  such  quantities,  that  it  is  certain  no  man 
now  living  will  see  the  day  when  the  supply  will  be  exhausted. 

From  all  this,  it  will  be  seen  that  Sandstone  possessed  means  of 
obtaining  money  such  as  few  towns  are  privileged  to  have,  and  this 
gave  hope  and  promise  of  happy  and  prosperous  years. 

The  school  edifice,  which  for  a  place  like  Sandstone,  was  a  worthy, 
even  splendid  building  in  its  ruins,  testifies  to  the  fact  that  those  who 
built  it,  hoped  to  see  a  place  of  two  or  three  thousand  inhabitants.  It 
was  here  that  the  persons  who  met  their  death  and  those  who  escaped 
with  their  lives  only,  had  laid  plans  for  years  of  work,  and  happy 
useful  lives,  from  which  they  might  reap  due  reward. 

The  fire  has  changed  many  things  in  Pine  county,  and  at  Sand- 
stone; but  it  has  not  blotted  out  the  hopes  or  pl?ns  of  the  men  who 
yet  reside  here,  and  who  are  interested  in  its  growth. 

The  Great  Northern  Railway  Company  are  making  it  a  division  on 
its  eastern  branch,  and  will  build  a  roundhouse. 

This   summer — 1895 — The    Minneapolis  Trust   Company   are   to 

71 


7-2 


MIKNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


BRAKEMAIN  GILHAM. 


F.  A.  THISTLE. 


BRAKEMAN  MCLAUGHLIN. 


NEWS  AGENT  MANHART. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  73 

work  the  quarries,  and  have  designs  for  their  development  of  the 
stone  business  which  will  make  everything  which  has  been  done  in 
the  past  seem  small  indeed. 

The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  secured  two  lots,  the  gift  of 
the  Trust  Company ;  here  will  be  a  church  and  rectory. 

The  Presbyterians  also  have  a  house  of  prayer. 

There  is  a  good  public  school  and  hotel,  "The  Northern,"  and  an 
air  of  confidence  pervades  all  lives  and  gives  brightness  to  all  hearts. 
Even  now  the  fire  is  looked  upon  as  a  thing  of  the  past,  and  at  the 
same  time,  as  having  given  a  sacredness  to  the  town  which  nothing 
else  ever  could  have  imparted.  The  place  where  imminent  danger 
was  passed  ,where  sad  trials  were  bravely  borne,  and  where  death 
came  to  the  loyal  and  the  loved  ones,  now  lost  to  human  ken, — all 
have  left  an  impress  never  to  be  effaced. 

EXPERIEXCE  OF  JOHN  FALK. 

My  home  is  at  Sandstone  Junction,  and  on  the  day  of  the  fire  I 
was  there  alone,  as  my  wife  and  children  were  at  Sandstone.  I 
began  to  get  uneasy  about  I  o'clock,  when  the  clouds  of  smoke  could 
be  seen  overhead,  showing  plainly  that  a  large  fire  must  be  burning 
in  our  immediate  vicinity.  About  2  o'clock  it  became  so  dark  that 
one  could  not  see  without  a  lamp.  I  thought  it  best  for  me  to  be 
with  my  family,  so  I  started  for  town,  which  was  four  miles  away.  I 
reached  it  just  in  time,  as  the  fire  had  commenced  its  work  of  devas- 
tation before  I  arrived  there.  I  found  my  family  all  right  and  sent 
them  down  to  the  river;  I  followed  soon  afterwards.  We  stood  in 
the  river  about  three  hours,  and  the  next  morning1  were  taken  to 
Duluth. 

EXPERIEXCE  OF  M.  W.  W.  JESMER,  BRIDGE  WATCHMAN, 
EASTERN  MINNESOTA  RAILWAY. 

About  2  p.  m.,  on  Sept.  ist,  I  was  at  my  house,  which  stood 
about  two  hundred  feet  from  the  bridge  that  crosses  the  Ket- 
tle river  at  Sandstone.  The  sky  had  been  cloudy  and  the  air  full  of 
smoke  since  about  10  o'clock  a.  m.  About  2:15  p.  m.  I  noticed  a 
reflection  in  the  sky  as  if  from  a  large  fire.  I  was  standing  on  the 
bridge,  which  is  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  water, 
and  I  could  see  that  in  the  direction  of  Hinckley  a  large  fire  was  burn- 
ing. I  could  also  hear  a  rumbling  noise,  as  if  the  wind  were  blowing 
a  gale.  It  got  so  dark  about  3  o'clock  that  the  lamps  had  to 
be  lighted. 


74  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

The  train  passed  over  the  bridge  at  about  3  o'clock  p.  m. ;  the  head- 
light on  the  engine  was  burning.  I  had  to  carry  my  lantern  to  get 
the  number  of  the  engine,  this  being  part  of  my  duty  as  bridge  watch- 
man. I  remained  at  my  post  on  the  bridge  till  about  4  o'clock,  when 
a  fire  started  in  the  woods  on  the  west  side  of  the  track.  The  wind 
had  risen  meantime,  and  many  sparks  were  carried  over  my  house; 
at  4  o'clock  I  sent  my  little  boy  down  town  to  ask  for  help,  as  I  was 
afraid  it  would  catch  fire.  I  also  told  him  to  tell  the  section  foreman 
to  send  his  men  up,  in  case  they  should  be  required  to  save  the  bridge. 
Mr.  Bullis,  the  railway  agent  at  Sandstone,  ran  up  to  the  bridge  and 
told  me  that  the  south-bound  train,  which  had  passed  at  about  3:05, 
was  backing  up  from  Hinckley,  as  it  was  unable  to  proceed  any 
farther.  The  train  backed  over  the  bridge  loaded  with  passengers 
and  refugees  from  Hinckley,  and  as  many  more  as  they  could  pick 
up  on  the  way.  The  sparks  from  the  fire  were  falling  thick  and  fast; 
they  came  down  just  like  hail-stones;  the  bridge  was  burning  in 
twenty  or  thirty  places  when  the  train  passed  over.  I  told  my  wife 
to  go  down  to  the  rocks  under  the  bridge  and  remain  there  until  I 
came. 

The  train  had  not  gone  more  than  two  thousand  feet  from  the 
bridge  when  the  two  beats  on  the  east  side  were  blown  over.  I  knew 
then  that  the  bridge  was  doomed,  and  so  I  went  back  to  my  house  to 
try  and  save  what  I  could.  I  carried  my  trunk  out  of  the  house  and 
left  it  in  a  potato  field  near  by,  then  started  down  the  bluff  under 
the  bridge  where  my  family  were  waiting. 

The  night  watchman,  W.  W.  Damuth,  was  standing  about  halfl 
way  between  the  house  and  the  bridge,  I  called  him  to  come  with  me, 
as  there  was  no  use  in  staying  there  any  longer;  he  seemed  dazed  and 
did  not  answer,  but  kept  walking  toward  the  bridge.  That  was  the 
last  I  saw  of  him  alive. 

When  I  joined  my  family  I  thought  that  we  should  be  safer  in  the 
quarry,  which  was  only  a  short  distance  away.  We  tried  to  reach  it, 
but  could  not,  the  heat  was  so  intense.  I  then  made  up  my  mind  to 
go  into  the  river,  as  I  thought  drowning  preferable  to  being  burned 
to  death.  I  took  my  wife  and  fc-ur  children  into  the  water;  we  were 
followed  by  Thomas  McCoy  and  Nels  Flygt,  and  they  helped  me  to 
keep  my  wife  and  children  from  drowning  as  the  water  near  the 
bridge  is  very  deep. 

When  I  went  over  the  bridge  for  the  last  time  my  dog  followed  me, 
but  would  not  come  off  the  iron  spanning  the  middle,  I  tried  to  catch 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  75 

him  but  could  not.  He  remained  on  the  bridge  during  the  whole 
time  and  howled.  At  first  I  thought  it  was  Mr.  Damuth  as  it  sound- 
ed like  a  human  being.  He  had  to  stay  on  the  bridge  until  Monday 
morning,  when  a  bridge  builder  climbed  upon  the  supports  and  low- 
ered him  with  a  rope.  The  bridge  was  so  hot  on  Sunday  that  noth- 
ing could  be  done  to  rescue  him.  The  poor  brute  was  badly  burned, 
but  is  all  right  now.  We  remained  at  Sandstone  until  Monday  night, 
when  we  were  sent  to  Duluth. 

EXPERIENCE  OF  PETER  BILADO. 

I  was  staying  in  town  with  my  wife's  siste~,  and  had  one  of  my 
little  girls  with  me.  My  sister's  house  stands  in  the  center  of  a  clear- 
ing fully  200  yards  from  any  timber.  It  grew  so  dark  about  2  o'clock 
that  I  thought  a  cyclone  was  coming,  and  we  had  to  have  the  lamps 
lighted.  We  could  see  the  reflection  of  a  fire  in  the  sky,  and  could 
hear  a  peculiar  sound  like  thunder  in  the  air.  The  fire  came  on  us 
very  suddenly.  It  seemed  to  come  from  above  with  a  roaring  sound 
something  like  a  large  body  of  falling  water.  Balls  of  fire  seemed  to 
be  bursting  in  the  air. 

My  sister  and  her  children  ran  from  the  house,  and  I  took  my  girl 
by  the  hand  and  ran  with  her  to  a  ditch  about  fifty  yards  away.  The 
fire  was  so  close  to  us  that  it  set  fire  to  our  clothes.  I  must  have 
lost  my  senses,  for  as  soon  as  we  got  into  the  ditch  I  fell.  The  long 
grass  on  each  side  was  burning.  Both  my  hands  were  burned,  which 
brought  me  to  my  senses. 

I  told  my  little  girl  that  we  could  not  stay  there.  She  jumped  up, 
looked  about  her,  and  ran  towards  the  fire.  She  must  have  been  out 
of  her  mind.  She  ran  about  10  yards,  calling  out,  "Papa,  papa!"  I 
lost  sight  of  her  in  the  smoke,  and  did  not  see  her  again  until  I  saw 
her  dead  body. 

I  do  not  know  how  I  escaped  being  burned  to  death,  as  I  was  com- 
pletely  out  of  my  mind.     Both   my  hands   and   lower  limbs   were 
burned,  and  nearly  all  my  clothes.     The  fire  beat  down,  and  it  seemed 
as  though  the  air  was  full  of  hot  sand  which  fell  like  fine  hail. 
EXPERIENCE  OF  MRS.  BILADO. 

I  was  living  on  our  homestead,  about  four  miles  from  Sandstone; 
my  husband  and  one  of  the  children  were  at  Sandstone.  I  heard 
that  a  forest  fire  was  burning  near  Hinckley,  but  did  not  give  it  much 
thought.  On  the  afternoon  of  September  ist,  I  was  sitting  on  the 
doorstep,  with  my  baby  in  arms,  waiting  for  the  children  to  come 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  F[RES.  77 

home,  they  having  gone  to  the  pasture  to  bring  the  cattle;  it  was 
about  5  o'clock  p.  m.  when  they  came.  We  went  in  to  supper  at 
about  5:15;  it  was  so  dark  that  we  had  to  light  the  lamps,  and  I  be- 
gan to  feel  a  little  uneasy,  especially  as  my  husband  was  in  town. 

I  came  out  of  the  house  at  about  5:30  o'clock  and  could  see  the 
woods  burning  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away.  I  thought  it  would 
be  best  to  let  all  the  stock  loose  in  case  the  fire  should  come  upon  us. 
The  wind  began  to  freshen  and  I  could  see  the  rapid  approach  of  the 
fire;  I  though  that  we  could  fight  it  with  buckets  of  water,  and  ?o 
remained  about  the  house,  but  the  flames  made  such  headway  that  I 
decided  at  once  to  leave  the  house  and  everything  else  to  its  fate. 

I  told  my  children  that  we  would  have  to  eo  to  McKay's  Lake.  I 
took  the  baby  in  one  arm  and  a  pail  of  water  in  the  other  hand. 
Flora,  my  oldest  daughter,  fourteen  years  old,  carried  a  sheet  and  two 
blankets,  and  the  other  two  little  girls  clutched  hold  of  my  dress. 
The  flames  were  now  quite  close  to  us;  we  had  not  gone  more 
than  fifty  yards  when  I  told  my  children  that  we  could  never 
reach  the  lake.  I  decided  at  once  to  lie  down  in  a  rutabaga  patch 
a  few  yards  off.  Just  as  we  crossed  the  fence,  burning  cinders  began 
to  fall  on  us,  like  flakes  of  snow  or  hail  stones.  I  wet  the  sheet  with 
the  water  which  was  in  the  pail,  left  my  children  on  the  plowed 
ground,  and  went  back  to  the  house  for  more  w?ter.  When  I  was 
going  back  a  blazing  tree  fell  and  knocked  the  pail  out  of  my  hand, 
but  I  managed  to  pick  it  up  before  the  water  was  all  spilled.  I  hur- 
ried as  quickly  as  possible,  and  just  as  I  reached  the  fence,  a  fright- 
ened deer  ran  up  to  me  as  if  looking  for  protection.  The  poor  ani- 
mal appeared  to  be  dazed,  and  in  a  few  minutes  dropped  dead.  I 
went  to  where  my  children  were,  and  wet  the  blankets.  We  all  lay 
down  in  the  turnip  patch.  The  wind  was  blowing  like  a  cyclone, 
and  the  heat  was  something  awful. 

Flora  asked  me  if  I  thought  we  should  perish.  I  told  her  to  trust 
in  God,  that  he  would  do  what  was  best  for  us.  I  tried  to  spread  the 
sheet  over  the  children  but  the  wind  carried  it  away.  I  tried  ths 
blanket,  but  the  same  thing  happened  to  it.  I  spread  the  second 
blanket  over  them.  I  then  got  under  it — Flora  and  myself  on 
either  side  and  the  children  in  the  middle.  The  flames  were  roaring 
all  around  us  with  a  noise  like  thunder;  they  seemed  to  come  from 
the  sky  and  beat  on  everything. 

Just  then,  Flora  got  up  from  under  the  blanket  to  try  and  find 
the  blanket  which  had  blown  away.  I  called  to  her  not  to  go,  but 


78  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

she  either  did  not  hear  me,  or  did  not  understand  what  I  said;  she 
ran  about  one  hundred  yards  towards  the  fire  and  fell  down,  her 
clothing  burning.  I  screamed  out  in  my  agony  for  her,  but  I  dared 
not  go  to  her  assistance.  My  hair  caught  fire  and  my  dress  across 
my  shoulders.  By  this  time,  the  flames  were  all  around  us.  The 
heat  was  so  intense  that  it  soon  dried  out  our  blanket;  I  tried  to  put 
some  clay  on  it  as  it  was  burning  in  places  where  the  sparks  had 
fallen. 

My  baby  was  lying  across  my  breast,  and  I  could  hear  him  gasping 
for  breath  as  if  he  were  suffocating.  I  blew  in  his  mouth  and  that 
seemed  to  revive  him;  the  other  two  children  never  moved  and  I 
did  not  know  whether  they  were  dead  or  alive.  At  first  I  could  hear 
them  gasping  as  baby  did,  but  I  am  thankful  to  say  they  were  safe. 
It  it  had  not  been  for  the  wet  blanket  we  should  all  have  perished. 
When  the  fire  had  passed,  I  got  up  to  see  if  anything  was  left.  Noth- 
ing was  to  be  seen;  fire  everywhere.  I  thought  of  my  poor  Flora 
and  wondered  if  she  had  suffered  much.  We  remained  in  the  turnip 
field  all  night.  The  next  morning  I  searched  everywhere  for  Flora's 
body,  but  could  not  find  it.  I  took  the  children  to  the  well,  and  with 
water  in  an  old  tin  washed  our  eyes.  We  all  walked  to  Sandstone 
over  burning  stumps,  and  found  that  Sandstone  had  suffered  the 
same  fate.  I  found  my  husband,  his  hands,  arms  and  legs  being 
badly  burned,  and  I  learned  from  him  that  my  other  little  girl  had 
also  met  a  terrible  death. 

EXPERIENCE  OF  MRS.  DAVID  LIFEBRER. 

The  ist  of  September  is  a  day  which  I  shall  never  forget  My 
husband  was  in  Dakota;  living  with  me  were  my  five  children,  the 
youngest  five  months  old.  My  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Bilado,  and  his 
little  girl  had  stayed  with  us  all  day.  I  noticed  that  about  2  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  the  sky  became  cloudy,  and  smoke  was  coming  as 
if  from  a  fire  in  the  woods.  It  grew  darker  and  darker;  lamps  had 
to  be  lighted  at  4  o'clock.  We  could  see  the  reflection  of  the  fire  in 
the  sky,  and  knew  that  the  woods  were  burning. 

I  thought  we  were  safe,  as  our  house  stands  in  the  middle  of  a 
clearing.  At  about  5:30  we  heard  a  noise  like  lumber  piles  falling; 
we  supposed  that  the  lumber  piles  at  Sandstone  Junction  were  on 
fire;  it  sounded  just  like  thunder. 

The  wind  came  up  suddenly  and  sparks  flew  in  all  directions.  Still 
we  thought  we  were  safe.  Wre  did  not  leave  the  house  until  it  caught 


MTXXESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  79 

fire ;  we  then  ran  for  a  piece  of  plowed  land  about  thirty  yards  from 
the  house,  I  carrying  the  baby  and  a  shawl,  which  I  had  dipped  in 
a  barrel  of  water;  my  oldest  girl,  seventeen,  carried  the  next  young- 
est, three  years  old.  The  flames  were  coming  down  as  if  from  the 
sky,  and  the  air  seemed  to  be  full  of  hot  sand.  We  buried  ourselves 
as  best  we  could  in  the  onion  patch  and  covered  ourselves  with  the 
shawl.  One  cat  came  running  from  the  woods,  mewing  in  a  most 
piteous  manner  and  crawled  under  the  shawl.  I  did  not  know  until 
afterwards  where  my  brother-in-law  and  niece  were.  We  remained 
under  the  shawl  for  about  an  hour,  until  the  fire  had  passed. 

The  experience  was  an  awful  one,  the  sky  seemed  to  be  full  of  balls 
of  fire  which  would  explode,  keeping  up  a  constant  noise  like  heavy 
peals  of  thunder. 

My  eldest  boy  had  a  narrow  escape,  he  was  driving  from  Sandstone 
Junction  when  the  fire  overtook  him.  He  cut  the  horses  loose  but 
they  did  not  escape,  he  ran  into  a  corn  field,  and  so  saved  his  life. 
I  had  sent  my  youngest  boy  to  the  post  office,  and  th«>  people  there 
would  not  let  him  go  home.  He  saved  himself  by  going  into  the 
river. 

We  are  thankful  to  have  escaped  with  our  lives.  We  lost  every- 
thing we  had,  but  thanks  to  the  relief  committee,  we  shall  not  starve. 
They  are  taking  good  care  of  us,  and  we  are  especially  grateful  to 
Mr.  Miller,  the  relief  agent,  for  all  his  kindness. 

EXPERIENCE  OF  PATRICK  REGAN. 

I  wras  working  in  the  quarry,  and  I  first  noticed  the  smoke  in  the 
air  about  two  p.  m.  I  left  the  quarry  about  2:15  to  go  to  my  house 
which  was  about  half  a  mile  distant,  and  when  I  reached  the  house  it 
was  so  dark  I  had  to  light  the  lamps.  The  sky  got  so  dark  about 
3:30  that  I  thought  I  would  go  over  to  a  neighbor's  house  close  by 
and  ask  him  what  he  thought  was  the  matter.  He  said  it  was  only 
an  eclipse  of  the  sun  which  would  soon  pass  over;  I  told  him  it  was 
either  fire  or  a  cyclone,  and  advised  him  to  get  his  family  out  of  the 
house. 

We  soon  found  out  what  was  the  cause  of  the  darkness.  We  could 
see  the  sky  getting  red.  I  decided  at  once  to  move  my  family  into 
some  place  of  safety.  There  was  not  much  time  for  thought,  so  I 
told  them  the  safest  place  would  be  in  the  river,  which  was  about 
eight  hundred  yards  distant  from  the  house.  They  went  for  the 
river.  It  was  then  about  3:30.  I  remained  at  the  house,  pouring 


80 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIR2S. 


REV.  A.  RYAN,  D.  C.  L. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  81 

water  on  the  two  stacks  of  hay  which  were  close  by,  and  which  I 
thought  I  could  save.  I  did  not  leave  the  place  until  I  saw  three 
houses  burnt  around  my  home.  I  decided  then  to  -run  at  once  for 
the  river. 

I  could  see  coming  from  the  sky  what  looked  like  large  balls  of 
fire;  wherever  they  fell  they  would  explode  and  set  fire  to  whatever 
they  touched.  I  had  gone  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  from  the 
house  when  I  remembered  one  of  the  cows  was  tied  up  in  the  barn. 
I  ran  back  and  cut  the  rope  which  held  her.  The  poor  brute  was 
almost  mad  with  fright;  the  barn  \\zs  on  fire.  I  had  hard  work  to 
get  the  cow  to  go  out  the  door,  but  I  finally  got  her  out  and  she 
made  a  run  for  the  river,  and  I  followed  her. 

While  I  was  running,  I  saw  a  woman  coming  from  another  direc- 
tion, evidently  making  for  the  river.  I  thought  I  would  wait  for  her 
and  try  to  help  her  along,  but  the  flames  traveled  faster  than  she  did; 
they  soon  overtook  her  and  she  dropped  in  her  tracks,  her  clothing 
all  on  fire.  I  did  not  go  to  her  assistance,  as  it  would  have  meant 
death  for  me  to  do  so,  but  made  the  best  of  my  way  to  the  river. 
Before  I  reached  the  bank  my  clothing  was  on  fire  in  several  places. 
I  could  not  see  my  family,  so  I  supposed  they  had  gone  into  the 
water.  I  looked  again  up  and  down  the  bank,  and  at  last  discovered 
them  with  about  fifty  people,  all  huddled  together,  who  were  afraid 
to  go  into  the  water.  I  made  the  four  oldest  go  in  first  and  pour 
water  with  their  hands  on  the  others  as  fast  as  they  went  in,  and 
when  I  thought  I  had  them  all  safe  in  the  water,  I  discovered  that 
two  of  my  own  children  were  missing.  They  had  in  some  way  got 
separated  from  the  others  and  were  crouching  on  the  bank  unable 
to  move,  they  were  so  frightened;  one  I  carried  into  the  river  and 
asked  the  other  to  follow,  but  she  would  not,  and  I  could  not  go 
back  to  her,  as  the  child  I  was  caring  for  wculd  not  let  go  my  arms. 

I  saw  my  dog  Prince  in  the  water  and  told  him  to  go  and  bring 
Lizzie  into  the  river  and  hold  her  there  until  I  came  to  her  rescue. 
He  did  what  hef  was  told  and  dragged  her  into  the  water.  I  came 
and  released  her.  I  can  thank  that  dog  for  saving  Lizzie's  life.  If 
she  had  remained  on  the  bank  one  moment  more  she  would  have 
been  burnt.  We  all  stayed  in  the  water  until  the  most  of  the  fire 
had  passed, -about  two  hours  and  a  half. 

The  smoke  was  still  very  dense,  but  I  thought  I  would  venture 
upon  the  bank  and  see  if  I  could  find  a  house  that  had  escaped  the 
flames.  I  discovered  an  old  powder  house  in  which  were  four  large 


82 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  83 

kegs  of  powder.  I  picked  up  an  old  empty  powder  can,  filled  it 
with  water  and  threw  it  upon  the  burning  sticks  which  were  lying 
about.  I  made  everything  safe  outside,  then  went  in  and  carried  out 
the  powder  kegs  and  threw  them  into  the  river.  I  then  wet  the  floor 
of  the  powder  house  so  that  there  might  not  be  any  danger  there. 

I  then  went  down  to  the  river  and  brought  up  as  many  women  and 
children  as  could  crowd  into  the  powder  house.  Two  men  got  m 
and  would  not  come  out.  The  women  and  children  were  all  wet 
and  cold,  so  I  thought  if  I  could  only  find  a  few  potatoes  and  cook 
them,  the  poor  people  might  like  it.  I  picked  up  an  emptv  powder 
can,  filled  it  with  water,  put  it  to  boil  on  some  live  cinders  and  very 
soon  had  some  nice  warm  potatoes  ready.  There  were  not  enough 
to  go  around,  so  I  cooked  more  until  all  were  satisfied.  About  9 
o'clock  Sunday  morning  I  found  a  pig  which  had  been  partly  burned. 
I  cut  it  up,  made  a  pan  out  of  some  old  sheet  iron,  and  soon  had 
some  nice  roast  pork  for  breakfast.  I  helped  as  many  as  I  could  in 
that  way. 

My  family  and  I  were  taken  to  Duluth,  and  I  am  thankful  to  say 
through  the  kindness  of  the  relief  committee  and  their  agent,  Mr. 
Mr.  Miller,  we  are  very  comfortable  today. 

EXPERIENCE  OF  PETER  PETERSON,  SUPERINTENDENT 
MINNEAPOLIS  TRUST  COMPANY'S  QUARRIES. 

My  men  and  I  were  at  work  on  September  ist  at  the  quarry 
about  2  p.  m.  The  sky  grew  so  dark  that  I  sent  my  men 
home.  I  knew  there  was  a  forest  fire  off  toward  Hinckley,  but  I  had 
no  idea  that  it  would  touch  -jur  town.  I  went  to  my  store  where  it 
was  so  dark  that  the  lamps  had  to  be  lighted  and  almost  every  man 
outside  was  carrying  a  lantern,  as  if  it  were  night.  At  3  o'clock,  I 
went  to  the  depot  to  meet  the  train  from  Duluth,  and  try  to  find 
out  what  they  knew  about  the  fire.  When  I  left  the  depot,  a  small , 
fire  had  started  about  six  hundred  feet  away.  I  then  ordered  some  ; 
of  my  men  who  happened  to  be  there  to  go  down  to  the  quarry  and 
take  the  horses  out  of  the  barn,  and  also  bring  out  some  barrels  of 
water  and  try  to  save  as  much  of  the  property  as  possible. 

I  went  back  to  my  house  and  remained  there  a  short  time ;  I  could 
see  no  signs  of  a  large  fire,  and  thought  Sandstone  would  escape.  I 
was  soon  disappointed,  as  the  bridge  watchman's  son  came  running 
down  from  the  bridge,  and  asked  me  to  bring  some  men  up,  and 
try  to  save  his  father's  house  which  was  threatened.  When  I  reached 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


LEROY  THOMAS. 


W.  D.  CAMPBELL. 


N.  J.  MILLER. 


GEO.  VAN  PELT. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  85 

his  house,  the  flames  had  got  pretty  headway,  a  fire  having  started 
north  of  the  bridge  and  the  wind  was  blowing  a  fresh  gale  from  the 
north.  I  told  him  to  leave  his  house  and  bring  his  family  into  town. 
Just  before  I  left  the  bridge,  the  Eastern  Minnesota  train  No.  4  from 
Duluth,  being  unable  to  go  any  farther  than  Hinckley,  was  backing 
up  with  a  train  load  of  refugees  from  Hinckley,  and  other  places 
along  the  line  between  Hinckley  and  Sandstone.  The  bridge  was 
not  burning  when  the  train  passed  over,  but  the  woods  on  the  north 
side  of  the  bridge  were  burning  fiercely,  and  the  sparks  were  being 
carried  by  the  wind  towards  the  bridge.  When  I  saw  the  train  back- 
ing from  the  town,  I  thought  it  was  time  to  try  to  save  what  I  could. 
Just  then,  I  heard  a  rumbling  noise  which  I  thought  was  thunder. 
I  could  see  the  fire  in  the  sky  across  the  river;  it  looked  as  though 
a  cyclone  were  coming  upon  us,  carrying  everything  before  it,  then 
it  died  down  and  I  thought  the  danger  had  passed.  Shortly  after 
that,  a  strong  wind  came  up  from  the  southwest ;  I  then  realized  that 
there  would  be  no  chance  of  saving  the  town. 

I  went  into  the  store  and  blew  out  the  lights,  and  found  my  wife 
and  two  children  standing  outside.  The  wind  by  this  time  was  blow- 
ing a  hurricane,  and  the  flames  were  burning  up  everything  before 
them;  millions  of  sparks  were  falling  and  setting  fires. 

While  we  were  standing  outside,  undecided  what  to  do,  a  man 
came  running  past,  shouting,  "Make  for  the  river!"  He  said  that 
Hinckley  was  all  burned  up  and  that  Sandstone  would  share  the  same 
fate.  At  the  time,  I  did  not  understand  what  the  man  said  as  the 
noise  of  the  storm  \vas  so  great  it  was  impossible  to  hear.  We  made 
up  our  minds  at  once  to  go  to  the  river,  which  was  about  eight  hun- 
dred yards  away.  When  we  were  on  the  main  road  which  led  to  it, 
the  people  of  the  town  were  coming  from  all  directions,  and  before 
we  got  half  way  down  to  the  river,  the  brush,  trees  and  houses  on 
both  sides  of  the  road  were  burning.  I  thought  we  could  find  suffi- 
cient protection  behind  a  pile  of  small  stones  on  the  river  bank,  but 
the  heat  was  so  intense  that  we  did  not  stay  there  longer  than  three 
or  four  minutes.  We  all  went  into  the  river,  which  is,  at  this  place, 
about  two  feet  deep.  It  was  impossible  to  stand  in  the  water  and 
face  the  wind  and  heat  and  we  commenced  throwing  water  over  each 
other. 

We  remained  in  the  water  until  the  air  had  cooled  a  little — it  may 
have  been  an  hour  and  fifteen  minutes.  The  smoke  was  still  very 
dense;  a  man  on  the  bank  shouted  to  me  that  the  quarry  office  had 


86  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIXES. 

escaped  the  fire,  though  a  stone  mill  not  twenty  yards  from  the  office 
was  a  total  wreck.  I  then  told  as  many  as  could  to  go  to  the  office, 
away  from  the  flying  cinders  and  smoke,  and  soon  the  building  was 
filled;  the  women  and  children,  suffering  from  cold  and  wet,  were 
glad  to  find  protection. 

About  ii  p.  m.  the  wind  went  down,  and  the  smoke  cleared  away 
so  that  the  men  of  the  party  were  able  to  eo  to  town.  A  more  deso- 
late sight  could  not  be  imagined  than  that  which  met  our  gaze — not 
a  house  was  left,  nothing  but  a  few  smoking  tree  stumps,  to  show 
where,  an  hour  before,  the  thriving  little  town  of  Sandstone  had 
stood.  Here  and  there,  could  be  seen  the  half  charred  bodies  of  men, 
women,  children,  horses  and  cattle. 

The  ist  of  September,  1894,  is  a  day  that  will  never  be  forgotten  by 
the  survivors  of  the  disastrous  fire  at  Sandstone. 

EXPERIENCE  OF  MR.  ANDERSON,  CONGREGATIONAL 
MINISTER  AT  SANDSTONE. 

Sandstone  and  Hinckley  had  been  enveloped  in  smoke  many 
times  during  the  summer.  On  the  first  of  September  at  two  o'clock 
p.  m.,  we  could  not  see  the  sun  on  account  of  the  smoke.  The  even- 
ing before  I  had  been  in  Hinckley  to  preach  my  farewell  sermon, 
expecting  to  return  to  the  Chicago  Theological  Seminary  on  the 
loth  of  September,  where  I  had  a  year's  work  yet  to  finish. 

After  my  farewell  sermon  I  should  have  stopped  at  Hinckley  un- 
til the  next  morning,  but  some  way  or  other,  I  was  so  uneasy  that 
I  could  not  be  still,  although  I  did  not  know  of  any  danger.  There 
was,  so  to  speak,  a  voice  within  me  saying  that  I  should  go  back 
to  Sandstone  that  night.  After  having  decided  to  obey  this  voice, 
I  took  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  train  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning- 
for  Sandstone  Junction.  But  not  more  than  four  minutes  later 
the  train  stopped  because  of  the  fire  on  both  sides  of  the  road,  al- 
though it  did  not  stop  very  long  before  it  started  through  the  fire, 
and  so,  about  four  o'clock  I  was  in  Sandstone  Junction,  and  from 
there  I  had  to  walk  three  miles  that  dark  night  to  Sandstone,  where 
I  arrived  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

I  wish  to  write  especially  about  Sandstone.  The  Swedish  Con- 
gregational Church  of  which  I  was  pastor,  had  prepared  to  give  an 
entertainment  on  the  first  of  September,  especially  for  my  benefit  be- 
fore I  should  leave  them.  And  at  this  entertainment  I  was  expected  to 
speak.  I  had  worked  hard  about  two  weeks  to  prepare  myself  for 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  87 

this  address,  but  had  not  succeeded,  so  I  thought  I  would  try  it 
this  last  day,  and  I  worked  and  worked  with  it  all  forenoon,  but  did 
not  get  anything  out  of  it.  I  speak  of  this  because  it  seemed  to 
be  a  warning  of  the  great  danger  that  was  coming. 

About  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  skies  turned  red,  and  all 
the  earth  looked  as  if  it  had  been  dipped  in  blood;  we  were  all 
amazed.  And  what  would  happen?  All  works  stopped  and  every 
one  went  to  his  home.  Oh  what  a  sight!  This  condition  of  things 
continued  about  two  hours,  and  then  we  had  to  light  the  lamps,  and 
the  light  of  the  lamps  looked  like  electric  lights.  Then  two  men 
were  sent  to  see  if  the  fire  was  so  near  as  it  seemed  to  be;  return- 
ing, they  reported  that  the  fire  was  about  three  or  six  miles  away. 
Then  the  fire  apparatus  was  taken  out,  and  the  water  works  were  set 
in  order  so  that  all  was  ready  if  the  fire  should  come.  The  tram 
on  the  Great  Northern  Railway  passed  Sandstone  at  three  o'clock 
p.  m.,  and  when  it  came  to  Hinckley  the  greater  portion  of  the  vil- 
lage was  already  in  flames,  and  four  or  five  hundred  people  were 
gathered  around  the  station  waiting  for  the  train.  But  the  conduc- 
tor on  the  train  saw  that  it  was  no  use  trying  to  go  any  further. 
He  gave  orders  to  the  brakeman  to  switch  off  on  the  side  track,  and 
pick  up  all  the  empty  box  cars  so  as  to  prepare  room  for  all  the 
people  who  were  standing  round.  When  this  was  done,  the  fire 
was  so  close  by  that  some  of  the  cars  began  to  catch  fire,  but  the 
cars  were  filled  with  people  in  a  moment,  though  there  was  not  room 
for  all  who  were  standing  ready  to  flee  for  their  lives.  The  train 
started  at  full  speed  for  Superior,  leaving  many  behind.  While 
this  train  was  in  Hinckley,  a  telegram  was  sent  to  us  in  Sandstone, 
saying,  "If  you  love  your  lives,  try  to  save  them."  The  redness  of 
the  skies  had  turned  black  at  this  time,  and  it  was  very  dark.  The 
wind  began  to  blow  furiously.  All  the  time  before  it  was  very  calm. 
This  was  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  I  went  to  see  the 
man  in  charge  of  the  water  works,  and  told  him  that  he  better 
go  home  and  take  care  of  his  family,  but  he  said  he  did  not  dare 
to,  because  if  he  did  he  might  lose  his  place.  It  was  so  dark  that  he 
could  not  see  to  attend  to  his  machine,  so  sent  his  little  eleven- 
year-old  boy  home  to  get  a  lamp,  and  when  he  came  back  the  fire 
was  very  near. 

Before  he  went  to  get  the  lamp  I  had  left  the  water  works,  and 
hurried  around  in  the  city  to  warn  the  people  of  the  impending 
danger,  telling  them  to  run  to  the  river  and  save  themselves. 


88  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

Among  the  people  that  I  warned  was  one  man  who  said  he 
had  plenty  of  water  without  going  to  the  river,  enough  to  save  both 
his  family  and  his  house;  though  his  whole  water  supply  consisted  of 
five  or  six  barrels  and  three  or  four  washtubs  of  water.  With  the 
water  in  the  barrels  he  would  save  the  house  and  himself,  and  with 
that  in  the  tubs  his  wife  and  children  could  save  themselves. 

The  next  day  we  found  his  wife  and  children  lying  around  the 
empty  water  tubs  in  the  midst  of  the  street,  and  the  husband  lying 
about  thirty  feet  below — every  one  of  them  burned  to  death.  There 
were  also  a  great  many  others  who  did  not  heed  the  warning  and 
likewise  perished. 

I  am  now  ready  to  speak  about  the  great  fire.  It  turned  out  to  be 
a  veritable  cyclone  of  flames.  There  came,  as  it  seemed  to  me, 
great  balls  of  fire  from  the  sky,  and  when  they  were 
within  twenty  feet  of  the  ground,  they  burst,  sending  down  a 
heavy  rain  of  flashing  sparks,  like  a  mighty  sky  rocket  exploding 
with  brilliant  display  of  flashing  light.  Having  warned  as  many  as 
I  possibly  could,  I  stopped  for  a  moment  to  think  if  I  had  forgot- 
ten anyone  with  whom  I  was  acquainted.  Looking  around  I  saw 
a  light  in  a  cellar  window  under  a  house  where  a  family  lived  that 
I  was  acquainted  with.  Only  a  few  moments  and  I  was  there,  burst 
in  the  door  and  told  them  to  run  for  the  river.  There  were  three 
families,  and  immediately  they  all  started  out,  but  one  of  the  men 
became  so  excited  that  he  left  his  wife  behind  with  her  little  six 
months'  old  child  and  ran  all  alone  to  the  river  with  the  rest.  When 
the  wife  came  out  she  stood  there  bewildered,  not  knowing  what  to 
do,  and  while  standing  there  a  gust  of  the  cyclone  picked  her  up 
and  carried  her  about  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  where  she  was 
dropped  among  some  corn-stalks.  The  reason  that  I  was  not  picked 
tip  by  the  same  storm  was,  that  I  stood  on  the  other  side  of  the 
house,  out  of  reach  of  the  sweeping  elements.  After  the  worst 
shock  of  the  hurricane  was  over,  I  started  for  the  river,  not 
knowing  but  that  the  rest  were  already  there,  but  on  my  way 
I  heard  a  cry  from  the  small  corn  fields  near  by.  There  I  found 
that  wife  with  her  little  child.  I  wanted  to  take  the  child  but  she 
would  not  let  me.  She  finally  yielded  after  I  had  promised  to  save 
her  child  if  I  could  save  myself.  I  then  told  her  to  run  for  the 
river  as  fast  ais  she  could. 

When  I  started  with  this  little  child  in  my  arms,  the  house  was 
already  on  fire,  and  in  another  moment  it  was  seized  bv  the  storm 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  89 

and  carried  away.  I  was  then  behind  a  house  down  below  a  hill, 
or  else  I  would  have  been  carried  off  that  time.  From  this  place 
I  started  off  down  hill  toward  the  river.  Everything  around  me  was 
on  fire.  Coming  down  to  the  house  where  the  deacon  of  my  church 
lived,  the  fire  had  not  yet  come  thither;  there  I  saw  a  light  through 
the  kitchen  window.  The  kitchen  door  was  open  but  not  a  living 
soul  could  be  found  in  or  about  the  house.  Looking  around,  I  saw 
a  watch  and  some  money  on  the  table,  but  did  not  stop  to  take  it, 
for  there  was  no  time  to  lose.  I  started  through  the  kitchen 
door  and  was  met  by  fire,  so  I  ran  back  through  the  house,  aiming 
for  the  front  door,  but  found  it  locked.  It  soon  yielded  to  my 
vigorously  applied  push,  and  out  I  rushed,  straight  for  the  river. 
But,  alas,  when  I  came  out  in  the  midst  of  the  street  I  was  picked 
up,  with  the  little  child  in  my  arms,  by  the  storm,  and  carried  a  dis- 
tance of  about  1,000  feet,  where  I  was  laid  down  all  safe — neither  I 
nor  the  child  was  hurt  in  the  least.  This  storm  took  us  right  down 
toward  the  river,  and  only  a  short  way  from  where  we  were  dropped 
by  the  storm  we  found  the  mother  of  the  child.  My  clothes  had 
now  caught  fire,  but  the  river  was  close  by;  I  ran  and  threw  myself 
right  into  the  water,  still  having  .the  little  child  in  my  arms.  There 
were  not  yet  very  many  in  the  water,  but  the  banks  of  the  river 
were  lined  with  people,  ready  at  any  moment  to  throw  themselves 
headlong  into  the  water.  On  the  west  side  of  the  river  were  large 
boarding  houses,  and  on  both  sides  of  the  river  were  a  number  of 
haystacks,  all  in  flames.  The  fire  seemed  to  soar  sky  high. 
The  people  in  the  river  were  all  under  water  but  their  heads.  The 
air  that  we  had  to  breathe  was  so  hot  that  it  burnt  way  down  into 
our  lungs.  When  the  people  Who  had  stood  on  the  river  bank  were 
come  into  the  water,  we  heard  the  awful  cries  and  wailings  from 
the  poor  perishing  people  up  in  town  who  had  not  heeded  the 
warning. 

In  this,  our  great  common  despair,  we  were  all  praying  people; 
Christians  or  non-Christians.  The  ungodly  of  all  kinds  prayed 
now  to  the  living  God,  if  they  never  had  prayed  before. 

But,  on  account  of  our  great  anxiety  and  weariness  we  were  all 
(especially  the  women,  even  I,  myself,)  getting  very  weak  and  tired. 

I  had  not  seen  the  mother  of  the  child  that  I  had  in  my  arms  since 
I  was  let  down  by  the  storm,  and  now  I  was  so  tired  and  weak  that 
I  began  to  sink  to  the  bottom  of  the  river,  but  for  a  man  who  hap- 
pened to  see  me  sinking  and  braced  me  up,  I  would  have  drowned. 


ill) 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


REV.  E.  ANDERSON. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  91 

I  had  sunk  so  deep  that  the  water  had  commenced  to  cover  the 
little  child,  and  when  that  man  lifted  me  up,  I  heard  the  poor  little 
baby  cry.  Then  I  remembered  the  promise  to  its  mother,  and  this 
seemed  to  strengthen  me,  and  then  they  led  me  over  to  a  log  near  by, 
against  which  I  could  rest  myself  a  little  while,  and  here  another 
man  kept  throwing  water  over  me  and  himself,  to  keep  our  heads 
from  being  burned  by  the  flames  flying  around  us. 

While  standing  there,  the  father  of  the  child  happened  to  find  me; 
recognizing  his  little  child  he  took  it  in  his  arms  and  kissed  it, 
and  a  short  time  afterwards  we  found  the  mother.  I  was  now  get- 
ting a  little  stronger  so  that  I  could  go  about  and  help  others.  We 
had  been  in  the  water  about  two  hours  when  we  found  a  great 
block  of  stone  out  in  the  river.  On  this  rock  we  tried  to  put  all 
the  weak  and  tired  ones,  as  many  as  we  could,  and  then  all  the  rest 
who  could  find  room  went  up  on  the  rock,  in  all  about  one  hundred 
people.  On  that  rock  we  had  the  most  blessed  prayer-meeting  I 
have  ever  attended.  Then  we  all  joined  in  praising  God  with  the 

following  hymn: 

THE  MIGHTY  FORTRESS. 

1.  To  the  rock  that's  higher,  take  me 
From  the  flames  across  Jordan's  stream. 
Take  me  to  that  mighty  fortress, 
Which  in  every  siorm  shall  stand. 

CHORUS:     O,  thou  blessed  Rock  of  Ages, 
Let  us  rest  in  peace  in  thee; 
Who  remaineth  firm,  unshaken, 
Firm  to  all  eternity. 

2.  Tho'  around  that  mighty  fortress 
Billows  high  as  mountains  roll; 
All  thfir  angry  threatening  voices 
Shall  not  move  my  peaceful  soul. 

3.  Oh,  what  joy  that  fortress  mighty, 
Gives  me  while  the  moments  fly; 

Oh,  what  peace  and  strength  is  flowing 
From  its  fountain  rising  high! 

4.  Every  day  that  fortress  mighty 
Fills  mv  heart  with  hope  and  cheer, 
Lifting'higher,  soul  and  spirit, 

To  a  holy,  boundless  sphere. 

5.  O,  thou  blessed  Rock  of  Ages, 
Life  and  all  I  have  in  thee; 
Perish  every  worldly  treasure, 
Thou  my  own  shall  ever  be. 

6.  Rock  of  Ages,  give,  oh,  give  me, 
Strength  to  sing  the  praise  of  love; 
With  the  roaring  flames  around  me, 
'Till  I  rest  in  peace  above. 

Translated  from  Swedish,  freely,  by  K.  E.  LARSEN. 


92  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

This  prayer-meeting  lasted  about  a  half  hour.  All  combustible 
things  about  us  were  now  consumed,  we  having  been  in  the  cold  wat- 
er about  three  hours,  this  being  about  eight  o'clock  P.  M.,  everything 
dark  about  us,  except  now  and  then  a  flash  of  light  from  the  burn- 
ing ruins.  Being  in  this  awful  condition,  shivering,  cold,  wet,  hun- 
gry, tired  and  almost  naked,  we  finally  found  near  by  the  river, 
a  sand  bank,  whither  we  betook  ourselves  for  rest.  While  staying 
here  the  stronger  men  went  in  search  of  a  temporary  s'helter  to 
which  we  might  bring  the  poor,  suffering  mothers,  with  their  little 
babes,  and  others  who  were  severely  burned.  They  found  a  small 
house,  having  been  used  for  an  office,  standing  all  alone,  with  every- 
thing about  it  burned  down,  miraculously  saved,  as  it  were,  from  fire, 
with  not  a  scorch  on  it.  This  we  turned  into  a  hospital,  and  brought 
thither  our  fellow-sufferers,  until  the  whole  floor  was  covered.  The 
rest  of  us  had  to  stay  on  the  sand  bank  all  that  cold  and  dismal 
night. 

We  found  a  half  burnt  boat  by  the  river  side,  which  we  made 
use  of  as  a  kind  of  shelter  against  the  raging  whirlwind  of  sand 
and  ashes.  Thus,  we  remained  during  the  nig'ht. 

The  next  morning  the  sun  looked  down  upon  the  black  desert  of 
destroyed  homes.  Families  had  been  broken  up,  never  to  unite 
again;  the  lost  were  missed  and  those  that  remained  sought  them 
with  tears.  Here  was  a  husband  asking  "where  is  my  wife?"  Here 
is  a  mother  crying  in  despair,  "where  is  my  child?" 

What  a  sight  the  sun  beheld  as  he  looked  down  this  beautiful 
Sunday  morning  upon  the  ruins  of  former  Sandstone. 

Here  lay  scattered,  all  about,  the  burnt  corpses  of  my  beloved 
friends.  Amongst  these  I  recognized  some  of  my  own  church- 
members,  and  about  half  the  children  who  used  to  attend  our  Sun- 
day-school. About  ten  feet  from  her  own)  house  a  mother  was 
found,  burnt  to  a  black  corpse,  with  her  two 'little  children  by  her 
side,  one  under  each  arm.  The  feeling  I  had,  confronted  with  this 
sight,  cannot  be  translated  into  words.  Tears  drowned  the  power 
of  utterance,  and  not  a  word  could  I  speak. 

BREAKFAST  ON  SUNDAY  MORNING. 

Not  having  had  anything  to  eat  for  over  twenty-four  hours,  we 
naturally  felt  weak  and  hungry.  But  where  should  we  find  anything 
to  eat  when  everything  was  burnt.  We  found  some  pails  and  went 
into  the  gardens  near  by  and  digged  up  potatoes  with  our  hands* 


MIXXESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  93 

roasted,  and  all  ready  to  use.  I  never  ate  potatoes  that  tasted  so 
good. 

We  also  found  a  calf  and  three  cows,  providentially  saved,  as  it 
seems,  for  they  too  had  run  into  the  river.  We  killed  the  calf  and 
milked  the  cows,  and  thus  provided  food  for  the  little  babies  and 
others  who  could  not  relish  their  potatoes  as  some  of  us  did. 

Realizing  that  we  were  cut  off  as  to  all  communications  with  the 
rest  of  the  world — the  telegraph  and  railroad  being  burnt — we 
sent  two  men  on  a  five-mile  wralk  to  Hell's  Gate,  to  find  out  what 
the  conditions  were  there.  They  found  that  the  boarding  house  was 
saved  with  provisions  on  hand  for  about  one  day,  and  returned  with 
orders  to  us  to  walk  thither,  as  many  of  us  as  could.  Thus  we 
started  off  for  Hell's  Gate  barefooted  and  scantily  clad.  Fortunately 
enough,  our  friend  Air.  Hysler,  of  Sandstone,  had  succeeded  in 
saving  his  two  horses  and  wagon,  and  they  now  came  to  our  ser- 
vice. 

Those  who  were  unable  to  walk  and  could  stand  to  ride,  were 
taken  over  by  him,  while  some  stayed  behind  to  care  for  those  who 
were  too  weak  to  be  moved.  In  passing  through  the  town  we 
were  almost  choked  by  the  stifling  air. 

REST  AND  REFRESHMENT  AT  HELL'S  GATE. 

Having  arrived  at  this  place  about  one  o'clock  we  enjoyed  a 
much-needed  wash,  a  hearty  dinner,  and  a  refreshing  rest. 

At  midnight  I  was  aroused  by  two  men  from  Miller's  Station  sent 
by  the  relief  train,  with  orders  for  as  many  as  could  to  walk 
to  that  place.  It  was  my  task  to  awaken  the  people. 
In  spite  of  all  precautions,  they  rushed  up  crying,  "Is  there  fire  in 
this  house  also?"  Thus,  almost  trampling  each  other  down,  until 
I  succeeded  in  quieting  them  and  convincing  them  that  there  was 
no  danger. 

Thus  we  set  out,  as  many  as  dared,  and  felt  able,  in  pitch  dark 
midnight,  from  Hell's  Gate  to  Miller's  Station,  on  a  five-miles'  walk. 
But,  oh  what  a  terrible  walk!  Many  were  without  shoes.  Their  feet 
were  burnt,  sore  and  bleeding;  almost  without  clothes,  cold,  tired, 
and  heavy-hearted ;  while  the  stronger  of  us  carried  the  little  children 
in  our  arms  until  we  were  well  nigh  weighed  down. 

Arriving  at  the  train,  we  were  taken  in  hand  by  kind  and  sympa- 
thetic friends  and  refreshed  with  food  and  tender  care.  The  doctors 
dressed  our  wounds,  and  experienced,  tender  nurses  cared  for  our 


MINNESOTA   FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  95 

sick.  We  felt  glad  and  grateful,  both  to  God  arid  man  for  this 
timely  relief,  for  now  we  felt  that  we  were  out  of  the  reach  of  those 
terrible  devouring  flames. 

This  train  took  us  to  Duluth,  where  we  arrived  on  Monday  morn- 
ing at  seven  o'clock.  From  the  depot  we  were  taken  to  Armory 
Hall,  where  we  found  a  temporary  resting  place.  Here  tables  were 
stretched  from  wall  to  wall,  spread  with  all  manner  of  good  things, 
by  kind  and  loving  friends. 

Having  myself  received  food  and  clothing,  I  returned  with  the  re- 
lief train  which  left  Duluth  at  10:30  A.  M.,  Monday,  for  Sand- 
stone and  Hinckley,  to  assist  in  picking  up  the  dead  bodies.  We 
arrived  on  the  ground  of  devastation  about  2  P.  M.,  and  assumed 
our  terrible  work  at  once.  Here  we  found  whole  families  where  the 
family  ties  had  been  broken  by  the  merciless  foe,  and  father  and 
mother  and  children  lying  scattered  about  in  wild  confusion  in  the 
field  of  death  and  horror. 

Thus  we  continued  our  work  of  picking  up  the  poor  unfortunate 
ones  all  along  the  track  and  its  vicinity.  At  Sandstone  Junction  we 
divided  ourselves  into  different  groups.  I  was  with  a  group  that 
went  out  to  the  neighboring  farms.  At  one  place  we  found  a 
family  of  six  and  only  one  had  escaped.  They  had  all  sought  refuge 
in  the  cellar,  but  no  shelter  there  against  the  penetrating  heat.  The 
husband  tried  to  get  them  all  out  and  bring  them  to  the  well.  But 
ere  he  succeeded  in  doing  so  the  cruel  flames  seized  his  wife,  and  his 
five  children  and  he,  himself,  escaped  barely  with  his  life,  badly  burnt, 
without  home  and  alone  in  the  world.  Wre  found  the  little  children 
lying  but  a  short  distance  from  their  mother,  as  it  seemed  just  as 
they  had  been  playing,  not  very  much  burned,  but  life  was  gone. 

At  another  place  we  found  thirteen  people  scattered  about  a  little 
potato  field,  all  having  perished  by  a  like  fate.  One  of  the  most  re- 
markable cases  was  a  babe  which  we  found  yet  clinging  with 
its  little  arms  about  its  mother's  neck,  not  very  much  hurt,  though 
its  mother,  lying  face  down,  was  burnt  in  front  to  a  black  fire  brand. 

Many  other  cases  might  be  mentioned  but  we  will  now  proceed 
to  Sandstone.  There  I  found  the  man  in  charge  of  the  water  works, 
whom  I  had  told  before  of  the  impending  danger  to  his  family,  ten 
feet  down  in  the  ground  at  the  water  connection,  leaning  over  his 
eleven-year  old  boy,  with  clasped  hands,  as  if  praying;  in  that  at- 
titude he  had  gone  from  this  world  of  sorrow,  misery  and  woe. 
True  to  his  charge,  he  left  his  beloved  family  and  died  on  his  post. 


96  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

At  another  place  we  found  eighteen  bodies  in  one  well,  of  whom 
about  twelve  were  children— my  little  Sunday-school  children— all 
dead.  But  the  odor  that  arose  from  that  well  was  beyond  human 
endurance;  it  cannot  be  related. 

We  found  one  woman  sitting  in  the  well  on  a  mattress,  stooping 
forward  a  little,  with  her  hands  on  her  knees,  apparently  alive,  but, 
alas,  no.     Thus  the  husband  found  his  wife  that  awful  Sunday  morn- 
ing; overcome  with  grief  he  cried  out  in  despair,  "Nothing  further  . 
for  me  to  live  for,"  and  went  and  drowned  himself  in  a  creek. 

Only  a  little  ways  from  here,  on  a  farm,  we  found  a  whole  family 
in  the  cellar,  standing  together,  with  arms  clasped  around  each 
other,  leaning  against  the  wall — all  dead.  While  a  neighbor,  in 
a  similar  place,  saved  himself  and  family  by  having  a  great  supply 
of  milk  on  hand  whereby  the  greedy  flames  were  quenched. 

From  here  I  returned  to  the  relief  train  and  went  with  it  to  Hinck- 
ley,  assisting  in  picking  up  the  dead  bodies  along  the  track.  In 
Hinckly  the  ruins  were  still  burning,  and  the  bodies  in  hundreds 
were  scattered  about  the  town.  Here  we  worked  until  nine  o'clock 
in  the  evening.  The  corpses  were  left  here  for  burial  on  the  fol- 
lowing day  while  those  belonging  to  Sandstone  and  vicinity  were 
buried  at  the  Sandstone  cemetery. 

On  our  way  to  Hinckley  we  were  joined  by  a  little  calf  that  came 
up  to  the  train  seemingly  to  plead  for  relief.  We  pitied  the 
defenceless  creature,  took  him  into  the  train,  and  gave  him 
milk,  which  he  evidently  swallowed  with  good  appetite,  but  how  he 
escaped  the  fire  no  one  can  tell.  He  was  joined  a  little  further  along 
the  road  by  another  fellow-creature  of  his  own  kind.  That  one  stood 
alone  in  the  gravel  pit,  having  alone  escaped  the  horrid  death  to 
which  hundreds  of  mortals  had  fallen  victims  all  about  him  in  that 
pit;  we  also  took  him  into  our  train. 

I  don't  know  whether  the  calves  enjoyed  it  the  better,  or  we.  Ev- 
erybody seemed  to  be  their  friends  and  enjoyed  their  company. 
These  two  calves  were  taken  to  the  county  farm  where  they  will 
be  tenderly  cared  for  and  in  due  time  put  on  exhibition  as  choice 
relics  of  the  few  escaped. 

We  returned  thence  to  Duluth  at  three  o'clock  A.  M.,  all  tired 
out  with  this  sickening  work. 

As  a  crowning  event  at  the  close  of  this  eventful  time,  and  as  a 
delightful  change,  I  had  the  privilege  of  marrying-  a  couple  that 
had  saved  themselves  out  of  that  all-absorbing  conflagration.  This 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  97 

young  couple  seemed  to  be  cheerful  and  hopeful,  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  they  possessed  not  a  single  dollar. 

These  experiences  have  sunk  deep  into  my  heart.  This  conflagra- 
tion is  wider  in  its  sweep  and  more  terrible  in  its  results  than  any 
one  can  imagine  who  has  not  been  an  eye-witness  of  the  actual 
scene. 

During  all  these  terrible  experiences  I  was  not  afraid,  for,  in  the 
very  flames,  I  only  waited  the  time,  evidently  near  at  hand,  when  I 
should  see  Jesus,  and  enter  into  His  rest. 

EMIL  A.  ANDERSON. 


98 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


PARTRIDGE. 

D  REYIOUS  to  the  fire,  Partridge,  although  not  a  large  town,  was 
doing  a  heavy  business,  largely  lumbering  interests  centering 
there. 

It  contained  several  dwellings,  owned  by  H.  Hogenson,  J.  John- 
son, Mrs.  May  Boyington  and  R.  L.  Saundcrs  (night  operator  for 
the  Eastern  Minnesota  Railway  Company),  two  stores,  one  owned 
by  T.  O'Xeal,  the  other  by  T.  C.  Kelly;  one  hotel  owned  and  man- 
aged by  D.  Boyington. 

The  Eastern  Minnesota  railway  station,  together  with  the  day 
telegraph  work,  had  been  successfully  run  by  May  Boyington  (wife 
of  D.  Boyington),  for  five  years  previous  to  the  fire. 

When  Partridge  was  threatened,  Mrs.  Boyington  bravely  kept  to 
her  post;  even  when  the  train  arrived  bearing  the  Hinckley  refugees, 
she  refused  to  leave,  waiting  until  the  fire  was  upon  them.  Then 
leaving  her  own  property  she  remained  to  gather  up  such  valuables 
as  she  could  carry  belonging  to  the  company,  barely  escaping  with 
her  life. 

The  fire  left  most  of  the  Partridge  people  homeless  and  without 
money.  O'Xeal  Brothers,  J.  Fleming,  D.  Boyce  and  Welch,  Done- 
van  &  Co.,  were  heavy  losers. 

The  residents  consider  their  escape  from  the  fire  miraculous,  as 
it  burst  upon  the  town  with  sudden  fury. 

GEORGE  VAX  PELT. 

On  the  first  day  of  September,  1894,  I  left  West  Superior  on 
extra  at  2:30  p.  m.,  with  engine  206,  Fireman  Albert  McMahon. 
Conductor  J.  C.  Cardie,  Brakeman  Joe  Allen,  and  Kid  Nelson, 
who  lost  his  father  in  the  fire.  We  got  as  far  as  Dedham,  which 
is  about  fifty-three  miles  from  Hinckley,  where  we  received  orders 
to  lay  up  on  account  of  fire,  and  if  the  fire  got  so  close  as  to  en- 
clanger  the  train,  to  come  back  to  West  Superior. 


100 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


REV.  PROF.  POOLE,  M.  A. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  101 

On  the  arrival  of  the  passenger  train  from  Hinckley,  we  got  or- 
ders to  take  five  empty  box  cars  from  our  train,  proceed  toward 
Hinckley,  and  rescue  all  we  could  of  those  unable  to  get  on  the 
passenger  train.  While  waiting  at  Dedham,  I  had  a  few  minutes 
conversation  with  Engineer  Best,  of  the  passenger  train,  who  told 
me  the  condition  of  things  along  the  line  toward  Hinckley.  I  stop- 
ped two  or  three  times  between  Kerrick  and  Partridge  (the  latter 
place  fourteen  miles  from  Hinckley)  and  cut  trees  off  the  track,  which 
had  blown  down. 

When  I  got  within  three  miles  of  Partridge,  I  met  people  running, 
they  knew  not  where,  only  trying  to  get  away  from  fire.  I  stopped 
and  they  told  me  that  the  people  of  Partridge  had  run  to  a  little 
lake  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  north  of  the  track.  Partridge  con- 
sisted of  a  lumbering  camp,  general  store,  depot,  hotel  and  a  few 
dwellings.  The  only  relic  of  the  place  left  is  the  water  tank. 

Then  I  proceeded  toward  Hinckley  until  I  came  to  a  bridge  on 
fire,  when  I  could  go  no  farther,  and  started  back,  picking  up  peo- 
ple as  I  went,  and  when  opposite  the  lake,  I  whistled,  and  they 
came  toward  the  track  as  fast  as  they  could,  as  the  woods  were  then 
all  on  fire.  We  got  all  but  three  or  four  people,  who  were  over- 
come with  heat  and  gave  up,  so  they  could  not  be  saved.  All  told  we 
brought  about  two  hundred  refugees  in  on  our  train/' 

ALBERT  IT.  McMAHOX. 

The  following  is  a  correct  statement  of  the  work  of  our  trainmen 
at  the  time  of  the  great  fire,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge  and  belief. 

"On  Saturday  afternoon  of  September  first,  1894,  we  left  West 
Superior,  Wisconsin,  about  2:30  p.  m.  for  St.  Cloud,  Minnesota, 
with  an  extra  freight  train  in  charge  of  J.  C.  Cardie,  conductor,  and 
George  Van  Pelt,  engineer.  The  weather  was  hot  and  smoky.  When 
we  arrived  at  Boylestown,  six  miles  from  West  Superior  at  3:30 
p.  m.  we  had  to  light  our  head  light  and  cab  lamps,  as  well  as 
others. 

"We  reached  Dedham,  which  is  fourteen  miles  from  West  Su- 
perior, at  five  p.  m.  We  had  in  the  meantime  received  instructions 
from  headquarters  to  tie  up  at  Dedham,  until  further  orders,  as  the 
fire  was  so  close  to  the  track  that  it  was  dangerous  to  proceed  with 
the  train  any  further.  We  side  tracked  our  train  until  the  arrival 
of  passenger  and  local  freight  from  Hinckley  with  the  rescued  on 
board.  At  8:30  p.  m.  we  received  a  message  to  take  five  cars  and 


102  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

the  way  car  and  go  to  Partridge  to  rescue  what  people  were  there 
alive.  From  Dedham  we  went  to  within  half  a  mile  of  Partridge. 
The  fire  was  very  bad,  and  the  air  was  hot  and  oppressive,  almost 
to  suffocation.  Between  Mansfield  and  Partridge  we  stopped  our 
train  three  or  four  times  to  chop  the  burned  and  fallen  trees  from 
off  the  track. 

"When  within  one-half  mile  of  Partridge,  we  came  to  a  burning 
bridge  and  found  it  was  not  safe  to  pass  over.  Some  one  informed 
us  that  the  people  had  fled  to  a  lake  in  the  woods  some  distance 
from  Partridge ;  so  we  backed  up  the  train  slowly  to  a  logging  road 
and  sounded  the  whistle  to  let  the  people  know  we  were  there.  This 
was  about  one  o'clock,  the  morning  of  Sunday,  September  second. 
We  were  about  one  hour  loading  the  poorly  clad  people  on  our 
train,  which  backed  up  slowly  to  West  Superior,  arriving  at  six  a.  m. 

"There  were  about  sixty  families  as  near  as  I  can  judge,  number- 
ing, all  told,  about  two  hundred.  ALBERT  H.  McMAHOX, 

"Fireman  on  'Extra.' " 

"Though  oft  depressed  and  lowlv" 

"All  my  fears  are  laid  aside" 
"If  I  but  remember  only 

Such  as  these  have  lived  and  died." — Longfellow. 

"Through  envy  of  the  Devil  came  death  into  the  world.  But  the  souls  of 
the  righteous  are  in  the  hands  of  God,  and  there  shall  no  torment  touch 
them.  In  the  sight  of  the  unwise  they  seemed  to  die;  and  their  departure  is 
taken  for  misery,  and  their  going  from  us  to  be  utter  destruction ;  but  they 
are  in  peace.  For  though  they  be  punished  in  the  sight  of  men,  yet  is  their 
hope  full  of  immortality,  and  having  been  a  little  chastened  they  shall  be  justly 
rewarded  for  God  proved  them  and  found  them  worthy  of  himself.  They 
that  put  their  trust  in  God  shall  understand  the  truth,  and  such  as  be 
faithful  in  love  shall  abide  with  him;  for  grace  and  mercy  are  to  his  saints, 
and  he  hath  a  care  for  his  elect." — THE  WISDOM  OF  SOLOMON. 


FOREST  FIRES  OF  SEPTEMBER  1,  1894. 


DEATH  LIST. 

1.  Abbey,  Cora — Age  27,  wife  of  Albert  Abbey,  residence,  I  mile 

north  of  Hinckley;  identified  by  X.  Sherman;  no  valu- 
ables found  except  i  locket  and  a  few  trinkets;  has 
sister  in  Langford,  S.  D. 

2.  Abbey,  Albert — Age   33,  married,  husband   of  Cora  Abbey, 

residence  I  mile  north  of  Hinckley;  found  near  his  home 
and  identified  by  X.  Sherman;  has  father  and  mother  in 
Michigan. 

3.  Abbey,  Floyd — Age  7,  son  of  Albert  and  Cora  Abbey;   found 

with  his  parents. 

4.  Abbey,  Lloyd — Age  9,  son  of  Albert  and  Cora  Abbey;  found 

with  his  parents. 

5.  Arndt,  Miss  Mattie — Age  18,  single,  residence  Hinckley,  par- 

ents live  near  Montrose,  Minn.;  unidentified;  nothing 
found  but  buttons,  etc.;  reported  by  B.  C.  Bartlett. 

6.  Anderson,  Anthony — Age  62,  married;   residence,  Sandstone. 

7.  Anderson,  Airs. — Age  58,  wife  of  Anthony  Anderson. 

8.  Anderson, Male,  age  6,  son  of  Anthony  Anderson. 

9.  Anderson,  Male,  age  10,  son  of  Anthony  Anderson. 

10.  Anderson, Male,  age  12,  son  of  Anthony  Anderson. 

11.  Anderson,  John  G. — Age  48,  residence  Hinckley,  husband  Oif 

Airs.  Emily  Anderson;    not  identified. 

12.  Anderson,  Airs.  Emily — Age  45,  wife  of  J.  G.  Anderson;   not 

identified. 

13.  Anderson,  Chas.  G. — Age  21,  son  of  John  G.  Anderson,  was 

found  i  mile  north  of  Hinckley,  identified  by  C.  Yan- 
hoven.  H.  S.  Bartlett,  and  others;  buried  in  Hinckley 
cemetery. 


]Q4  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

14.  Anderson,  Emily— Age  18,  single,  daughter  of  J.  G.  Ander- 

son, was  not  identified ;   has  uncle  in  Mdorehead. 

15.  Anderson,  Frank— Age  35,  married,  residence  Sandstone,  hus- 

band of  Mrs.  F.  Anderson,  Xo.  16. 

16.  Anderson,  Mrs. — Age  32,  wife  of  Frank  Anderson,  above  de- 

scribed ;    residence,    Sandstone. 

17.  Anderson, Boy,  age  6,  son  of  Frank  Anderson. 

1 8.  Anderson,  —          — Boy,  age  7,  son  of  Frank  Anderson. 

19.  Anderson,  Mrs.  Engla — Age  32,  married,  wife  of  August  An- 

derson; residence,  Sandstone;  found  in  Halvorsen's  well 
with  17  others;  identified  by  August  Anderson. 

20.  Anderson,  -          — Female,  age  9,  daughter  of  August  An- 

derson, found  in  well  with  her  mother. 

21.  Anderson,  —          — Female,  age  7,  daughter  of  August  An- 

derson, found  in  well  with  her  mother. 

22.  Anderson,  August — Age  36,  married;  residence,  Sandstone. 

23.  Anderson,  Mrs. — Age  36,  wife  of  August  Anderson;  residence, 

Sandstone. 

24.  Anderson,  Chas. — Age  35,  married;  residence,  Brook  Park. 

25.  Anderson,  —     Child,  age  4,  son  of  Chas.  Anderson;   res- 

idence, Brook  Park. 

26.  Anderson,  -          — Child,  age  5,  daughter  of  Chas.  Ander- 

son;  residence,  Brook  Park. 

27.  Anderson, Child,  age  8,  son  of  Chas.  Anderson. 

28.  Anderson,  Mrs. — Age  35,  wife  of  Chas.  Anderson. 

29.  Burke,   John — Age  40,   married;    residence,    Hinckley;    wife 

living  in  Sandstone;   John  Burke  was  not  identified. 

30.  Bilado,  Emma — Age  8,  daughter  of  Peter  Bilado;   residence, 

Sandstone;    parents  living  in  Sandstone;    this  girl  was 
found  near  her  home. 

31.  Bilado,  Xora — Age  13,  daughter  of  Peter  Bilado,  found  near 

her  home;    identified  by  her  mother. 

32.  Berghaln,  Magnus — Age  24,  single;    residence,  Sandstone. 

33.  Brodd,  Alfred — Age  29,  married;   residence,  Sandstone. 

34.  Brodd,  Mrs.— Age  26,  married,  wife  of  Alfred  Brodd. 

35.  Brodd,  -         — Age  — ,  daughter  of  Alfred  Brodd. 

36.  Brodd,  -  -Age  8,  son  of  Alfred  Brodd. 

37.  Burns,  Robert— Age  35,  single;  residence,  Sandstone. 

38.  Brayman,  James  W?— Age  27,  single;  residence,  Brook  Park; 

found  in  woods  east  of  the  section  house:   identified  by 
his  father;  father's  residence  Brook  Park. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  105 

39.  Barnes,  James — Age  35,  single;   residence,  Pokegama;   son  of 

Robert  Barnes,  Pokegama;  identified  by  his  father. 

40.  Barnes,  James — Age  25,  single,  found  on  wagon  road,  2  miles 

south  of  Pokegama;  identified  by  his  father,  Robert 
Barnes. 

41.  Best,  John — Age  63;   residence,  2  miles  south-east  o'f  Hinck- 

ley;  found  on  road,  60  rods  west  of  his  house;  identified 
by  his  son  Christian;  buried  at  Hinckley;  identified  by 
a  jack  knife  which  he  carried. 

42.  Best,  Eva — Age  60,  married,  wife  of  John  Best;    found  with 

John  Best  in  the  road  west  of  the  house;  identified  by 
Christ  Best. 

43.  Best,  Bertha — Age  18,  single,  daughter  of  John  and  Eva  Best; 

identified  by  Christ  Best. 

44.  Best,  William — Age  21,  single,  son  of  John  and  Eva  Best; 

not  identified. 

45.  Best,  Fred — Age  23,  single,  son  of  John  and  Eva  Best;   not 

identified. 

46.  Best,  George — Age  25,  single,  son  of  John  and  Eva  Best;  not 

identified. 

47.  Best,  Victor — Age  8,  son  of  John  and  Eva  Best. 

48.  Bean,  James — Age  48,  married,  wife  living  in  Eau  Claire,  not 

identified;   perished  in  swamp  north  of  Hinckley. 

49.  Burke,  John,  Sr. — Age  65,  father  of  John  Burke,  No.  29;  res- 

idence, Hinckley,  with  his  son;  his  body  was  not  iden- 
tified, supposed  to  have  gone  across  the  river,  north  of 
Hinckley. 

50.  Blanchard,  Mrs. — Age  29,  married,  wife  of  John  Blanchard, 

of  Hinckley,  body  found  at  St.  P.  &  D.  round  house; 
identified  by  her  husband;  buried  in  Hinckley. 

51.  Blanchard,  Frank — Age  n,  found  with  his  mother  at  round 

house. 

52.  Bee,  Stephen — Age  16,  son  of  Alex  and  Hannah  Bee;    resi- 

dence, south  of  Hinckley;  could  not  be  identified. 

53.  Curry,  Michael — Age  38,  married;   residence,  i  mile  north  of 

Hinckley;  all  of  family  burned;  has  brother  in  Mich- 
igan; found  three-fourths  of  a  mile  north  of  his  home; 
identified  by  N.  Sherman  and  Jos.  Tew;  buried  at 
Hinckley. 

54.  Mrs.  Curry — Age  30,  wife  of  M.  Curry,  found  i  mile  north  of 

her  home ;  identified  by  N.  Sherman  and  Jos.  Tew. 


106  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FTRES. 

55.  Curry,  Willie— Age  12,  son  of  Mike  Curry,  found  with  his 

mother;  identified  by  his  being  with  his  mother. 

56.  Cain,  David— Age  54,  married;    residence,  Rock  Creek;  was 

in  Hinckley  on  visit;  found  in  swamp  I  mile  north  of 
Hinckley;  buried  at  Hinckley. 

57.  Cain,  Mrs. — Age  50,  wife  of  David  Cain,  found  with  husband 

in  swamp  north  of  Hinckley. 

58.  Chambers,   Louis — Age  24,   married,   came   from  Illinois  to 

Hinckley;  found  on  Section  12,  Town  of  Hinckley;  iden- 
tified by  N.  Sherman,  by  his  personal  appearance;  and 
knife  and  buttons. 

59.  Crowley,  Jerry — Age  59,  widower;  residence,  Hinckley;  tound 

in  gravel  pit  north  of  Hinckley;  identified  by  Dr.  D.  W. 
Cowan,  of  Hinckley;  buried  at  Hinckley. 

60.  Corbett,  Thos — Age  57;    residence,  Hinckley;   burned  in  the 

woods  north-east  of  Hinckley,  near  Kettle  River. 

61.  Costigan,  William — Age  50;    residence,  Hinckley;    not  iden- 

tified; supposed  to  have  perished  in  swamp  one-half  mile 
north  of  Hinckley. 

62.  Costigan,  Mrs.  Effie — Age  41,  wife  of  William  Costigan. 

63.  Costigan,  Miss  Effie — Age  15,  daughter  of  William  Costigan. 

64.  Costigan,  Irma — Age  15,  daughter  of  William  Costigan. 

65.  Costigan,  Myrtle — Age  10,  daughter  of  William  Costigan. 
66     Costigan,  Jennie — Age  7,  daughter  of  William  Costigan. 

67.  Costigan,  William — Age  5,  son  of  William  Costigan. 

68.  Costigan,  Hazel — Age  2,  daughter  of  William  Costigan. 

69.  Conniker,   Jas. — Age   50,    single;    residence,    Hinckley;    has 

sister  living  in  Pine  City;   was  not  found. 

70.  Donahue,  Ellen — Age  37,  married;  residence,  Hinckley;  found 

in  swamp  one-half  mile  north  of  Hinckley;  husband 
lives  in  Hinckley;  she  was  identified  by  him,  and  buried 
in  Hinckley. 

71.  Donahue,  Esther— Age  8,  daughter  of  Dan  Donahue;   found 

in  swamp  with  her  mother;  burned  beyond  recognition. 

72.  Donahue,  Katie— Age  10,  daughter  of  Dan  Donahue,  found  in 

swamp  with  her  mother;  identified  by  Dan  Donahue. 

73.  Donahue,  Mary— Age  12,  daughter  of  Dam  Donahue;   found 

with  her  mother. 

74.  Dunn,  Thomas— Age  25;   residence,  Hinckley;   son  of  Mich- 

ael Dunn,  of  Hinckley;  was  recognized  by  appearance 
and  jewelry;  was  buried  at  Pine  City. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  107 

75.  Demet,  William — Age  26,  single;   residence,  Sandstone. 

76.  Dagerstrom,  Chas. — Age  20,  single;  residence,  Sandstone. 

77.  Erickson,   Mrs.   Mary — Age  42,  wife  of  O.   Erickson;    resi- 

dence, Sandstone. 

78.  Eck,  Xels — Age  39,  married;    residence,  Hinckley;   not  iden- 

tified. 

79.  Edstrom,  Sophie — Age  60,  widow;   residence,  Sandstone. 

80.  Edstrom,   Mrs. — Age   30,    wife   of   Ed.    Edstrom;    residence, 

Sandstone. 

81.  Edstrom, — Age  8,  daughter  of  Ed.  Edstrom. 

82.  Edstrom,  —       — Age  6,  son  of  Ed.  Edstrom. 

83.  Edstrom,  —         — Age  4,  son  of  Ed.  Edstrom. 

84.  Edstrom,  —     Age  2,  daughter  of  Ed.  Edstrom. 

85.  Frisk,     Caroline — Age    42,     married;     residence,     Hinckley; 

burned  in  swamp  north  of  Hinckley,  but  not  identified. 

86.  Frisk,  John — Age  10,  son  of  Mrs.  Nels  Frisk;   was  burned 

with   his   mother. 

87.  Frisk,  Richard — Age  2,  son  of  Xels  Frisk;   burned  with  his 

mother. 

88.  Frisk,  David — Age  7,  son  of  Xels  Frisk;  burned  with  mother 

in  swamp,  one-half  mile  north  of  Hinckley. 

89.  Englund,  —          — Age  3,  son  of  Peter  Englund;    residence, 

Sandstone. 

90.  Englund,  —         — Age  5,  son  of  Peter  Englund. 

91.  Englund,  —       — Age  7,  daughter  of  Peter  Englund. 

92.  Englund,  —          — Age  9,  son  of  Peter  Englund. 

93.  Englund,  —       — Age  n,  son  of  Peter  Englund. 

94.  Englund,  —       — Aged  12,  daughter  of  Peter  Englund. 

95.  Englund,  —         — Age  14,  daughter  of  Peter  Englund. 

96.  Englund,  Mrs. — Age  43,  wife  of  Peter  Englund. 

97.  Englund,  Peter — Age  44,  married ;  residence,  Sandstone;  found 

in  well  with  others  on  Halvorsen's  lot;  the  entire  family 
was  burned  at  Sandstone. 

98.  Fitzgerald,  Pat— Age  47,  married;    residence,  Hinckley;    not 

identified. 

99.  Fitzgerald,  Mrs.  Mary — Age  42,  wife  of  Pat.  Fitzgerald;   not 

identified. 

100.  Fitzgerald,  John — Age  14,  son  of  Pat.  Fitzgerald;    not  iden- 

tified. 

101.  Fitzgerald,   Mary — Age    13,   daughter  of  P.   Fitzgerald;    not 

identified. 


]08  MINNESOTA  FOREST  PIPES. 

102.  Fitzgerald,  Pat — Age  12,  son  of  Pat  Fitzgerald. 

103.  Ginder,  William — Age  47,  married;  residence,  Hinckley;  sup- 

posed to  have  burned  across  the  river;  not  identified; 
has  brother  living  near  Hinckley. 

104.  Ginder,  Mrs.  Winnie — Age  45,  wife  of  William  Ginder;    rec- 

ognized and  buried  in  Hinckley. 

105.  Ginder,  William,  Jr. — Age  9,  son  of  William  Ginder;   was  not 

identified. 

106.  Ginder,   James — Age  9,   son  of  William    Ginder;    not   iden- 

tified. 

107.  Grissinger,  Mrs.  C. — Age  35,  wife  of  William  Grissinger;  res- 

idence, Hinckley;   identified  and  buried  by  her  husband. 

1 08.  Grissinger,   Miss   C. — Age    10,  daughter  of  Mrs.   Grissinger; 

identified  by  William  Grissinger;  buried  with  her 
mother. 

109.  Grissinger,  Mabel — Age  8,   daughter  of  William   Grissinger; 

identified  by  her  father;   buried  in  Hinckley. 
no.     Granstrum,   Mary — Age  7,  daughter  of  Andrew   Granstrum; 

residence,    Hinckley;    was    burned    in    swamp,    one-half 

mile  north  of  Hinckley;    not  identified. 
in.     Ginder,  Winnie — Age  8,  daughter  of  William  Ginder. 

112.  Greenfield — Age  7,  son  of  M.  E.  Greenfield;   residence,  Fin- 

layson;    identified  by  his  father. 

113.  Greenfield,  —         — Age  15,  daughter  of  M.  E.  Greenfield. 

114.  Greenfield,  —         —Age  8,  daughter  of  M.  E.  Greenfield. 

115.  Greenfield,  —         — Age  5,  daughter  of  M.  E.  Greenfield. 

116.  Greenfield,  —         — Age  3,  daughter  of  M.  E.  Greenfield;  the 

Greenfield  children  were  identified  by  the  locality  where 
they  were  found. 

117.  Goodsell,  David — Age  25  single;    residence,  Pokegama;    has 

parents  living  in  Polk  county,  Wisconsin. 
n8.     Guhldahl,  Andrew — Age  30,  single;   residence,  Sandstone. 

119.  Hanson,  Mrs. — Age  29,  wife  of  Ed.  Hanson,  No.  2;  residence, 

Hinckley;  burned  in  swamp  one-half  mile  north  of 
Hinckley;  not  identified. 

1 20.  Hanson,  Mrs.  Clara — Age  30;  residence,  Hinckley;  burned  in 

swamp,  one-half  mile  north  of  Hinckley;    not  identified. 

121.  Hanson,  Axel — Age  39,  married;  residence,  Hinckley;  burnerl 

in  swamp  one-half  miles  north  of  Hinckley;  identified  by 
Otto  Kowalke,  of  Pine  City,  and  others ;  buried  in  Hinck- 
ley; leaves  wife  living  in  Hinckley. 


MIXXESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  109 

122.  Hanson,  Henry — Age  35,  married;  residence,  Hinckley;  iden- 

tified by  watch,  etc.;  buried  at  Hinckley;  leaves  wife  and 
6  children  in  Hinckley. 

123.  Hanson,  Ed. — Age  45,  married,  family  in  Duluth;  not  found; 

burned  in  swamp  north  of  Hinckley. 

124.  Hanson,   Mrs.   Sophie — Age  44,  married,  burned  in  swamp 

one-half  mile  north  of  Hinckley;  not  identified. 

125.  Hathaway,  Mrs. — Age  — ,  married,  found  one-half  mile  east  of 

Hinckley;    reported  by  A.  G.  Perkins. 

126.  Hjerpa,  Karin — Age  62,  married,  mother-in-law  of  Xels  Frisk, 

burned  in  swamp  one-half  mile  north  of  Hinckley;  iden- 
tified by  the  locality  in  which  she  was  found. 

127.  Henderson,  John — Age   12,  son  of  Thos.  Henderson;    resi- 

dence, Pine  City;  burned  in  the  woods  north  of  Hinck- 
ley; identified  by  the  father  and  buried  in  Pine  City. 

128.  Henderson,  Sandy — Age  13,  son  of  Thos.  Henderson;   found 

with  his  brother. 

129.  Hopps,  Mrs — Age  ^.8,  married;   residence,  Sandstone. 

130.  Hoffman,  Henry  B. — Age  81,  married;   residence,  Sandstone; 

was  burned  near  his  home;  identified  by  his  son,  Robert 
Hoffman,  of  Pine  City;  buried  at  Sandstone. 

131.  Hoffman,  Mrs. — Age  79,  wife  of  H.  B.  Hoffman,  found  with 

her  husband 

132.  Jones,  Thos. — Age  45,  widower,  found  on  top  of  Hinckley 

Hill;  buried  in  Hinckley. 

133.  Johnson,  Mrs.  Annie — Age  31,  wife  of  Peter  Johnson,  found 

on  St.  P.  &  D.  Ry.  track;  buried  in  Hinckley;  identified 
by  Nels  Frisk;  address  of  friends,  John  Pearson,  Hinck- 
ley. 

134.  Jensen,  Peter — Age  33,  husband  of  Mrs.  Annie;    residence, 

Hinckley;   burned  in  swamp  north  of  Hinckley. 
J35-     Jensen,  Albert — Age  10,  son  of  Annie  and  Peter  Jensen,  found 
with  his  mother  on  railroad  track;    identified  by  Nels 
Frisk;   buried  in  Hinckley. 

136.  Jensen,  Annie — Age  12,  daughter  of  Peter  Jenson,  found  with 

her  mother  on  the  railroad  track  north  of  Hinckley. 

137.  Johnson,  Alfred — Age  29,  single;    residence,  Hinckley. 

138.  Johnson,  Ernest — Age  27,  married;   residence,  Sandstone. 
J39-     Johnson,  Mrs. — Age  25,  wife  of  Ernest  Johnson. 

140.     Johnson, Age  i,  daughter  of  Ernest  Johnson. 


HO  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

141.  Kelly,  Jas. — Age  43,  single;  residence,  Hinckley;  burned  near 

Kettle  River;  identified  by  Ernest  Hogan,  who  was  with 
him;  buried  in  Pine  City. 

142.  Kjellen,  Peter — Age  29,  married ;  residence,  Sandstone. 

143.  Kjellen,  Mrs. — Age  28,  wife  of  Peter  Kjellen. 

144.  Kjellen, Age  10,  son  of  Peter  and  Mrs.  Kjellen. 

145.  Kjellen, Age  8,  daughter  of  Peter  Kjellen. 

146.  Kjellen,  —        Age  6,  son  of  Peter  Kjellen. 

147.  Lind,  Mrs. — Age  32,  wife  of  Lind;   residence,  Sand- 

stone Junction. 

148.  Lind,  —         — Age  10,  daughter  of  Mrs.  Henry  Lind. 

149.  Lind,  —         — Age  8,  son  of  Mrs.  Henry  Lind. 

150.  Lind,  —         — Age  6,  daughter  of  Mrs.  Kerry  Lind. 

151.  Lind,  —         — Age  4,  son  of  Mrs.  Lind. 

152.  Lind,  —         — Age  I,  son  of  Mrs.  Lind. 

153.  Lovell,  Thos.  J. — Age  38,  married;  residence.  I  1-2  miles  north 

of  Hinckley;  found  60  rods  south-east  of  his  house; 
came  from  Pierpont,  S.  D.;  identified  by  N.  Sherman. 

154.  Lovell,  Louise — Age  35,  wife  of  Thos.  J.  Lovell;   found  with 

her  husband;  buried  with  rest  of  family  in  Hinckley. 

155.  Lovell,  Esther — Age  14,  daughter  of  Louise  Lovell;  identified 

by  being  near  her  parents. 

156.  Lovell,  Chester — Age  n,  son  of  Thos.  J.  Lovell;    identified 

by  being  found  with  his  parents. 

157.  Lief,  Lottie — Age  18,  single;   residence,  Hinckley;    not  iden- 

tified;  reported  by  B.  C.  Martlett. 

158.  Larson,  Erick — Age  22,  single;   residence,  Pokegama;   found 

I  mile  east  of  Pokegama  section  house;  identified  by 
Hans  Nelson;  thought  to  have  relatives  at  Mud  Creek, 
Pine  county. 

159.  Martinson,  Mrs.  I. — Age  36,  wife  of  Martin  Martinson,   of 

Hinckley;  found  in  river  at  Hinckley,  near  the  wagon 
'bridge:  identified  by  husband;  buried  in  Hinckley. 

160.  Martinson,  Ida — Age  9,  daughter  of  Martin  Martinson;  found 

in  river  near  her  mother. 

161.  Martinson,  Emma — Age  7,  daughter  of  M.  Martinson;   found 

with  the  mother. 

162.  Martinson,  Hilda— Age  5,  daughter  of  M.  Martinson;   found 

in  Grindstone  river,  with  her  mother;  identified  by  her 
father;  buried  in  Hinckley. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  Ill 

163.  Martinson, Age  2  months,  daughter  of  M.  Martinson; 

found  with  mother  in  the  river. 

164.  Murphy,  Mike — Age  40,  husband  of  Mrs.  Nancy  Murphy,  of 

St.  Paul;  residence,  Hinckley;  was  not  found;  supposed 
to  have  been  burned  in  the  mill  yard  at  Hinckley. 

165.  McDonnell,  John — Age  27,  married;  residence,  Hinckley;  was 

seen  to  go  over  the  railroad  bridge  with  others;  none 
returned;  was  not  identified;  has  father,  Jas.  McDonnell, 
in  Wauzeka,  Wis. 

166.  McDonell,  Bertha — Age  27,  was  seen  to  cross  St.  P.  &  D.  Ry. 

bridge,  with  her  husband;  was  not  identified;  reported 
by  Michael  Dunn. 

167.  Molander,  Fred — Age  25,  married;    found  in  well  near  his 

house. 

168.  Molander,  Mrs. — Age  25,  wife  of  Fred  Molander;  found  in  her 

house;  identified  by  proximity  to  her  house,  and  having 
children  in  her  arms. 

169.  Molander,  —  — Age  3,  daughter  of  Fred  Molander. 

170.  Molander,  Age  I,  son  of  Fred  Molander;   identified 

by  A.  Berg. 

171.  Mattison,  Hans  W. — Age  20,  single,  burned  in  swamp  one- 

half  mile  north  of  Hinckley;  not  identified;  has  parents 
living  in  Eau  Claire,  Wis. 

172.  McXamara,  Mrs. — Age  48,  wife  of  John  McXamara  of  Rut- 

ledge;  found  on  railroad  track,  north  of  Hinckley;  iden- 
tified, and  buried  at  Hinckley. 

173.  McXamara,  John — Age  14,  son  of  Mrs.  McXamara;  found  on 

track  with  his  mother. 

174.  McXamara,  James — Age  12,  son  of  Mrs.  McXamara;    found 

and  buried  with  his  mother. 

175.  McXamara,  Michael — Age  8,  son  of  Mrs.  McXamara;  found 

and  buried  with  his  mother. 

176.  Xelson,  Mrs.  Betsy — Age  42,  married,  wife  of  Xels  Xelson; 

residence,  Hinckley;  not  found;  burned  in  swamp  one- 
half  mile  north  of  Hinckley;  reported  by  her  husband. 

177.  Xyberg,   Maggie — Age  20;    residence,   Hinckley;    not  iden- 

tified; has  relatives  in  North  Branch,  Minn.;  reported  by 
B.  C.  Bartlett. 


112  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

178.  Nesbit,  William— Age  38,  single;  residence,  Hinckley;  burned 

in  swamp,  one-half  mile  north  of  Hinckley;  Albert  Fra- 
zer,  of  Hinckley,  saw  him  die;  identified  after  death  by 
watch,  jewelry,  etc. ;  has  brother  in  Eau  Claire,  Wis. 

179.  Nelson,  John — Age  26,  single;  residence,  Sandstone. 

1 80.  Newstrom,  Gust — Age  33,  married;  residence,  Hinckley. 

181.  Newstrom,  Mrs.— Age  31,  wife  of  Gust  Newstrom. 

182.  Newstrom,  —         — Age  3,  daughter  of  Gust  Newstrom. 

183.  Nelson,  William— Age  25,  single;   residence,  Hinckley. 

184.  Nelson,  Louis — Age  28,  married;  residence,  Hinckley. 

185.  Nelson,  Mrs.  P.  M. — Age  32,  married;  residence,  Hinckley. 

1 86.  Olson,  Otto — Age  38,  married;  residence,  Hinckley;  not  iden- 

tified; supposed  to  have  burned  in  the  swamp,  one-half 
mile  north  of  Hinckley:  has  wife  left. 

187.  Olson,  —         — Age  i,  son  of  Otto  Olson;  found  in  the  river. 

1 88.  Olson,  —         — Age  9,  daughter  of  Otto  Olson. 

189.  Olson,  —         — Age  4,  son  of  Otto  Olson. 

190.  Olson,  Miss  Lena — Age  18,  single;  residence,  St.  Paul;  found 

with  the  Molander  family  at  Pokegama;  was  a  sister  of 
Mrs.  Molander;  identified  by  being  found  with  Molander 
family. 

191.  Olson,  Chas. — Age  22,  single,  brother  of  Mrs.  Molander,  of 

Pokegama;  identified  by  A.  Berg;  buried  at  Pokegama. 

192.  Olson,  Nora — Age  14,  sister  of  Chas.  Olson;  found  with  Mo- 

lander family;  buried  at  Pokegama. 

193.  Olson,  Oscar — Age  16,  brother  of  Chas.;    found  with  sister; 

identified,  and  buried  at  Pokegama, 

194.  Peterson,  Emily — Age  12;  residence,  Sandstone. 

195.  Peterson,  Emil — Age  29,  single ;  residence,  Sandstone;  found 

in  the  village  of  Sandstone;  identified  by  C.  Staples;  has 
brother,  Gust  Peterson,  in  Sandstone;  buried  in  Sand- 
stone. 

196.  Pennoyer,  William — Age  24;   residence,  Hinckley;   found  on 

railroad  track ;  fell  from  the  train  that  was  burned ;  iden- 
tified by  Walter  Gray. 

197.  Raymond,  Thomas — Age  35,  married;   residence,  Pokegama; 

found  one-half  mile  north-east  of  his  residence;  identified 
by  pipe,  etc.;  has  friends  in  West  Superior;  buried  in 
Pokegama. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  113 

198.  Raymond,  Mrs. — Age  35,  wife  of  Tlios.  Raymond;  found  with 

her  husband;  identified  by  purse;  buried  with  her  hus- 
band; reported  by  W.  Brayman;  friends  at  Grand  Forks, 
N.  D.,  and  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis. 

199.  Raymond,  Edward — Age  10,  son  of  Thos.  Raymond;    found 

one-half  mile  north-east  of  village;  buried  with  his  par- 
ents. 

200.  Raymond, Age  2,  daughter  of  Thos.  Raymond. 

20 1.  Raymond, Age  6,  son  of  Thos.  Raymond. 

202.  Ricketson,  E. — Age  71,  father  of  William  Ricketson;    resi- 

dence, Hinckley;  found  in  Hinckley;  buried  in  Hinck- 
ley;  came  from  Minneapolis. 

203.  Riley,  Dennis — Age  40;   residence,  Hinckley;   found  north  of 

his  home,  between  the  tw7o  tracks;  identified  by  L.  S. 
Miller  and  Conductor  Sargent;  address  of  friends,  J.  Mc- 
Xamara,  Rutledge;  had  $2,000  insurance  in  Oskosh  Ac- 
cident; has  i  boy  left. 

204.  Riley,  Mrs.  Winifred — Age  35,  wife  of  Dennis  Riley;  supposed 

to  have  been  burned  in  swamp,  one-half  mile  north  of 
Hinckley. 

205.  Riley,  Thos. — Age  15,  son  of  Dennis  Riley;  not  identified. 

206.  Riley,  -          — Age  5,  daughter  of  Dennis  Riley;    not  iden- 

tified; supposed  to  have  burned  with  her  mother;  buried 
in  Hinckley. 

207.  Roclgers,  John — Age  39,  married;   residence,  Hinckley;   born 

in  Canada;  found  in  Hinckrey,  near  railroad  track;  iden- 
tified by  W.  DeLong. 

208.  Roclgers,  Mrs.  R. — Age  26,  wife  of  John  Rodgers;  found  near 

her  husband;  identified  by  being  near  husband;  buried 
with  rest  of  family  in  Hinckley. 

209.  Roclgers,   Mary — Age  4,  daughter  of  John  Rodgers;    found 

with  mother. 

210.  Rodgers,  Minnie — Age  2,  daughter  of  John  Rodgers;    found 

with  parents. 

211.  Rodgers, Age  7  days,  son  of  John  Rodgers. 

212.  Rowley,  Otto — Age  43,  found  near  Skunk  Lake;    identified, 

and  taken  to  Duluth. 

213      Robinson,  John — Age  44;   (no  further  information.) 
214.     Robinson,  Mrs — Age  40,  wife  of  John  Robinson. 


114 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  115 

215.  Robinson,  —         — Age  13,  son  of  John  Robinson. 

216.  Robinson, Age  n,  son  of  John  Robinson. 

217.  Robinson, Age  9,  son  of  John  Robinson. 

218.  Reynolds,  L. — Age  54,  married;    residence,  Hinckley;    born 

in  Mair.e ;  not  identified ;  burned  in  swamp,  one-half  mile 
north  of  Hinckley. 

219.  Reynolds,  Mrs. — Age  40,  wife  of  L.  Reynolds,  burned  on  a 

wagon  with  rest  of  family;  not  identified. 

220.  Reynolds,    —       — Age   9,   daughter  of  L.   Reynolds;    not 

identified;  burned  in  swamp  north  of  Hinckley. 

221.  Reynolds,  —         — Age  6,  daughter  of  L.  Reynolds. 

222.  Reynolds, Age  6,  daughter  of  L.  Reynolds. 

223.  Reynolds, — Age  2,  daughter  of  L.  Reynolds. 

224.  Rustin,   S\ven — Age  29,   married;    residence,   Hinckley;    not 

identified. 

225.  Rustin,  Mrs. — Age  27,  wife  of  Swen  Rustin. 

225.     Rustin,  —     Age  7,  daughter  of  Swen  Rustin. 

227.  Rustin,  —         — Age  4,  daughter  of  Swen  Rustin. 

228.  Rustin,  —         — Age  2,  son  of  Swen  Rustin. 

228.  -Stromberg,  Chas. — Age  45;  residence,  Hinckley;  not  found; 
probably  burned  in  swamp,  one-half  mile  north  of  Hinck- 
ley; entire  family  burned  except  I  son,  Charles,  who  is 
now  in  Sioux  City. 

230.  Stromberg,    Mrs. — Age   36,   wife   of   Chas.    Stromberg;    not 

found;  supposed  to  have  burned  in  swamp,  one-half  mile 
north  of  Hinckley. 

231.  Stromberg,  — Age  8,  son  of  Chas.  Stromberg;  burned 

with  rest  of  family. 

232.  Stromberg,  Victor — Age  10,  son  of  Chas.  Stromberg. 

233.  Stromberg,  —          — Age  8,  son  of  Chas.  Stromberg. 

234.  Stromberg,  —          — Age  4,  daughter  of  Chas.  Stromberg, 

235.  Stromberg,  —          — Age  2,  daughter  of  Chas.  Stromberg. 

236.  Stromberg,   Joseph — Age  43,   married;    residence,  Hinckley; 

(nothing  further  known.) 

237.  Stromberg,  Mrs.  Mary — Age  42,  wife  of  Jos.  Stromberg. 

238.  Stromberg,  Oscar — Age  13,  son  of  Jos.  Stromberg. 

239.  Stromberg,  Albert — Age  u,  son  of  Jos.  Stromberg. 

240.  Stromberg,  Mary — Age  9,  daughter  of  Jos.  Stromberg. 

241.  Strombe-rg,  Augusta — Age  6,  daughter  of  Jos.  Stromberg. 

242.  Swanson,  August — Age  38,  married;  residence,  Sandstone. 


116 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA.  FOUEST  I 'TRES.  117 

243.  Swanson,  Airs. — Age  32,  wife  of  August  Swans  on. 

244.  Swanson,  —          — Age  10,  daughter  of  August  Swanson. 
2^5.     Sanderstrom,   Thos — Age   56,   nothing   certain   of  his   being 

identified;   buried  in  Hinckley. 

246.  Sherman,  Fred — Age  31;  residence,  i  mile  north  of  Hinckley; 

found  80  .ods  from  house;  identified  by  knife,  etc.;  re- 
ported by  X.  Sherman. 

247.  Sherman,  Mrs.  Eva — Age  24,  wife  of  Fred  Sherman ;  found  in 

root  house;  buried  in  Hinckley. 

248.  Sherman,   Ralph — Age  7,  son  of  Fred  Sherman;  found  with 

his  father. 

249.  Sherman,  Earl — Age  6,  son  of  Fred  Sherman;  found  near  his 

father;  buried  at  Hinckley. 

250.  Sherman,  George — Age  4,  son  of  Fred  Sherman;  found  near 

his  father. 

251.  Sherman,   Bina — Age   2,   daughter  of  Fred   Sherman;    found 

with  parents;  identified  by  X.  Sherman. 

252.  Sherman,  William — Age  i,  son  of  Fred  Sherman;  found  with 

his  parents;   buried  in   Hinckley. 

253.  Sherman,  Albina — Age  26,  wife  of  Xoble  Sherman;  residence, 

Hinckley;  found  near  the  house;  identified  by  breast- 
pin and  other  jewelry;  reported  by  X.  Sherman,  her  hus- 
band. 

254.  Sherman,  Flora — Age  7,  daughter  of  Xoble  Sherman;  found 

near  her  mother;  identified  by  XT.  Sherman,  her  father, 
who  is  going  to  Riversdale,  Mich. 

2"5.     Sherman,  John — Age  5,  son  of  X.  Sherman;  found  with  his 
mother. 

256.  Sherman,   Leslie — Age  3,   son  of  X.  Sherman;   identified  by 

his  father;  buried  in   Hinckley. 

257.  Sherman,  Romanzo — Age  i,  son  of  X.  Sherman;  found  with 

his  mother;  the  entire  family  was  buried  in  Hinckley. 

258.  Schlano,   Paul — Age  26,    single;  residence  Hinckley;  burned 

in  swamp,  one-hair  miie  north  of  Hinckley;  identified 
by  his  uncle,  P.  Leake,  of  Taylors  Falls;  was  taken  to 
Taylors  Falls,  and  buried  there, 

259.  Stromberg,  Chas. — Age  28,  married ;  residence,  Hinckley. 

260.  Stromberg,  Mrs. — Age  28,  wife  of  Chas.  Stromberg. 

261.  Turgeon,  Mr.  T. — Age  26,  married;  residence,  Hinckley;   not 

identified;   leaves  family  living  in  Hinckley. 


118  MTNNESCTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

262.  Westby,  Thos. — Age  38,  married;    residence,  Hinckley;    no1 

identified. 

263.  Westby,  -          — Age  34,  wife  of  Thos.  Westby;    not  iden- 

tified. 

264.  Westby, — Age  i,  daughter  of  Thos.  Westby;  not  iden- 

tified. 

265.  Westby,  Thos.,  Jr.— Age  10,  son  of  Thos.  Westby. 

266.  Westby,  Sophie — Age  8,  daughter  of  Thos.  Westby;   uniden- 

tified. 

267.  Westby, Age  5,  son  of  Thos.  Westby;   unidentified. 

268.  Westby, — Age  3,  son  of  Thos.  Westiby ;  this  entire  fam- 

ily was  burned  in  the  swamp,  one-half  mile  north  of 
Hinckley;  none  were  identified. 

269.  Weigle,  Anton — Age  33,  married;    residence,  Hinckley;    not 

foun;1.,  but  supposed  to  be  among  the  unidentified  bodies 
taken  from  the  swamp,  one-half  mile  north  of  Hinckley; 
reported  by  Christ  Best. 

270.  Weigle,  Eva — Age  22,  wife  of  Anton  Weigle;    was  burned 

with  her  parent,  John  Best ;  was  not  found. 

271.  Weigle,  Winnie — Age  4,  daughter  of  Anton  Weigle;  not  iden- 

tified. 

272.  Weireter,   Airs. — Age  24,   wife  of  Geo.  Weireter;    residence, 

Hinckley;   not  identified;   husband  lives  in  Hinckley. 

273.  Whitney,    Albert — Age    30,    married;     residence,    Pokegama; 

found  on  railroad  track,  by  William  Wilkinson  and  D. 
Alarkham;  buried  where  found. 

274.  Wall,  John — Age  38,  married;  residence,  Sandstone. 

275.  Wall,  Airs.— Age  37,  wife  of  John  Wall. 

276.  Wall,  -         —Age  6,  son  of  John  Wall. 

277.  Wall,  —         — Age  4,  son  of  John  Wall. 

278.  Wall,  -          —Age  — ,  daughter  of  John  Wall;  this  family 

was  buried  in  Sandstone. 

279.  White,  Thos. — Age  33,  married;    residence,  unknown;    found 

near  Hinckley;   was  an  explorer. 

280.  Webster,  Airs.  Belle— Age  26,  wife  of  Lee  Webster,  mayor  of 

Hinckley;   not  identified;    former  home  in  Iowa. 

281.  Wallace,  Anna— Age  about  35;    residence,  Hinckley;    died  in 

hospital  from  burns;  reported  by  AI.  Garity. 

282.  Wacke,  Airs.  Sophie— Age  2;,  married;    residence.  Hinckley. 

283.  Wacke,  —          — Age  — ,  infant  daughter  of  Sophie  Wacke. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  119 

284.  Westlund,  Mrs. — Age  29,  married,  wife  of  John  Westlund; 

residence  Hinckley. 

285.  Westlund,  —         — Age  2,  daughter  of  Mrs.  Westlund. 

286.  Westlund, Age  4,  daughter  of  Mrs.  Westlund. 

287.  Wold,  Louis — Age  44,  married;    residence,  Hinckley;    iden- 

tified by  John  Pearson;  buried  in  Hinckley;  burned  in 
swamp,  ojne-half  mile  north  of  Hinckley;  buried  in 
Hinckley. 

288.  Wold,  Alfred — Age  12,  son  of  Louis  Wold;    not  identified; 

burned  with  parents  in  swamp,  one-half  mile  north  of 
Hinckley. 

289.  Wold,   Mrs.    L. — Age   35,  wafe  of  Louis  Wold;    burned   in 

swamp  north  of  Hinckley;  not  identified. 

290.  Wold,  Ida — Age  n,  daughter  of  Louis  Wold;  not  identified. 

291.  Wold,  Christ — Age  6,  son  of  Louis  Wold. 

292.  Wold, Baby,  about  I  year  old,  son,  of  Louis  Wold; 

the  entire  family  was  burned  in  swamp,  one-half  mile 
north  of  Hinckley;  none  of  them  were  identified,  except 
Louis. 

293.  Wold,   Louis,   Sr. — Age  72,  father  of  Louis  Wold;    burned 

one-half  mile  north  of  Hinckley,  in  swamp. 

294.  Westlund,  John — Age  39,  married;  not  identified;  his  wife  is 

now  in  Duluth. 

296.  Westlund, Age  2,  daughter  of  John  Westlund. 

297.  O'Brien,  Belle — Age  20,  single;   residence,  Hinckley. 

298.  Dolan,    Emma — Age   24,    single;     residence,    Hinckley;    not 

identified. 

299.  Anderson,    Andrew — Age    about    23;     residence,    Hinckley; 

worked  in  saw  mill  for  Brennan  Lumber  Co.;  not  iden- 
tified; reported  by  William  Bruce. 

300.  Dahlgren,   John — Age    19;    residence,   Hinckley;    worked   in 

saw  mill;  not  identified. 

301.  Hopkins,    Nathan — Age  50;    residence,    I  1-2    miles   west   of 

Hinckley,   found  in  Hinckley;  not  identified. 

302.  Hopkins,    Airs.   -Age   40,    wife    of   N.    Hopkins;    burned    in 

Hinckley;    not  identified. 

303.  Hopkins,  Walter— Age  13,  burned  with  rest  of  family  in  swamp 

one-half  mile  north  of  Hincklev;    unidentified. 


120  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

304.  Peterson,   Peter — Age  24,   single;    residence,   Hinckley;    not 

identified;  probably  burned  in  swamp  north  of  Hinckley. 

305.  Parrish,  Jos. — Age  21,  single;   residence,  Hinckley;   not  iden- 

tified; burned  in  swamp,  one-half  mile  north  of  Hinckley. 

306.  Evans,    Chas. — Age   38,   married;    residence,    Hinckley;    not 

identified. 

307.  Campbell,  —         — Age,  47;  (nothing  further  known.) 

308.  Paulson,  Airs.  Hans — Age  33;   residence,  Hinckley;  not  iden- 

tified ;  burned  in  swamp  north  of  Hinckley. 

309.  Paulson,  —          — Age  — ,  daughter  of  Hans  Paulson. 

310.  Paulson,  —         — Age  4,  son  of  Hans  Paulson. 

311.  Paulson,  —         — Age  5,  son  of  Hans  Paulson. 

312.  Paulson,  —         — Age  7,  son  of  Hans  Paulson;   none  of  this 

family  were  identified. 

313.  Hopkins,  Bertha — Age  8,  daughter  of  N.  Hopkins;   not  iden- 

tified; burned  in  swamp  north  of  Hinckley,  with  her 
parents. 

314.  Hopkins,   -          — Age   3,   son   of   X.   Hopkins;    burned    in 

swamp,  one-half  mile  north  of  Hinckley. 

315.  Unknown — Male;    'height,    5.10;    weight,    165;    wore    heavy 

laced  shoes,  woolen  ribbed  socks;  nothing  on  body; 
found  in  swamp,  one-half  mile  north  of  Hinckley. 

316.  Unknown— Boy;    age   about    12;    knee  pants;    long,   black 

ribbed  stockings;  shingle  nails  found  in  pocket;  found 
one-half  mile  north  of  Hinckley. 

317.  Unknown— Girl;  age  about  13;  weight,  90;  found  on  railroad 

track,  near  the  round  house,  in  the  village  of  Hinckley; 
burned  beyond  recognition. 

318.  Unknown— Man;  age  about  24;  weight,  160;  wore  Bloucher 

laced  shoes  and  Bedford  cord  pants;  small  silver  watch, 
case  Xo.  25107;  $3  in  silver;  i  Yale  padlock  key;  hair 
burned  off;  probably  sandy. 

319-     Unknown— Man;   weight,  170;  'body  well  formed;    no  cloth- 
ing on;   found  on  top  of  Hinckley  hill. 

320.  Unknown— Female;    age   about  45;    dark   hair,   tinged   with 

gray;  plain  gold  earrings;  height,  5.02;  wore  low  gaiter- 
shoes;  2  plain  gold  rings  on  finger  of  left  hand,  also  ring 
set  with  red  stone;  found  in  swamp,  one-half  mile  north 
of  Hinckley. 

321.  Unknown-Male;    weight,   160;    short,  gray  beard;    checked 

shirt;  heavy  shoes;  40  cents  in  silver;  jack  knife. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  121 

322.  Unknown — Male;   age  about  25,   wore  low  gaiters;   73  cents 

in  silver;  door  key  Xo.  14;  pencil  with  rubber;  large 
jack  knife,  and  plug  of  Spear  Head  tobacco.  Hinckley. 

323.  Unknown — Male;    age  about  40;    found  on  country  road,   I 

mile  from  Hinckiey:  burned  beyond  recognition;  noth- 
ing but  shoes  left  on  his  body;  weight  about  150. 

324.  Unknown — Male;  age  about  40;  weight  about  140;  height, 

5.08;  had  on  striped  woolen  shirt;  silver  watch  and 
chain,  with  bull's  head  engraved  on  case;  body  found  in 
swamp,  one-half  mile  north  of  Hinckley. 

325.  Unknown — Male;   found  in  mill  yard;    only  bones  and  a  few 

buttons  left;  buried  in  Hinckley. 

326.  Unknown — Male;    age  about  35;    found  near  Skunk  Lake; 

evidently  a  passenger  from  the  train;  nothing  left  on 
foody  but  a  pair  of  shoes;  buried  in  Hinckley;  reported 
by  E.  Stephan,  C.  Vanhoven  and  J.  G.  Howard. 

327.  Unknown — Male;    found   in   lumber  yard;    only  jack   knife, 

watch  and  buttons  left ;  not  enough  found  to  be  buried. 

328.  Unknown — Found  in  engine  room  of  saw  mill  in  Hinckley; 

only  a  few  bones. 

328.     Unknown — Female;   age  about  25;   found  in  swamp,  one-half 
mile  north  of  Hinckley. 

330.  Unknown— Female ;    age  about  20;    dark  hair;    gold  breast 

pin;  nothing  further  known;  found  on  top  of  Hinckley 
hill. 

331.  Unknown — Male;    age  about  38;    found  in  swamp,  one-half 

mile  north  of  Hinckley;  nothing  to  identify  him. 

332.  Unknown — Male;    age  about  40;    weight,    160;    sandy  hair; 

wore  low  gaiter  shoes. 

333.  Unknown — Female;    age  about  18;    gold  hair  pin;    found  on 

top  of  Hincklev  hill:  buried  in  Hinckley. 

534.     Unknown — Female;  baby,  about  I  year  old;  found  in  swamp, 
one-half  mile  north  of  Hinckley. 

335.  Unknown — Male;   age,  28;   found  in  Hinckley. 

336.  Unknown — Age  about  50;  found  near  Skunk  Lake;  supposed 

to  be  a  passenger  from  burned  limited  train. 

337.  Unknown — Age  about  50;    weight,  150;    height,  5.09;    taken 

from  ruins  of  Hans  Paulson's  house  in  Hinckley;  buried 
in  Hinckley. 

338.  Unknown — Girl;    age,  12;    found  in  Hinckley. 


122  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

339.  Unknown — Girl;     age,    10;     found    on    railroad    track,    near 

Hinckley;   buried  in:  Hinckley. 

340.  Unknown — Male;   age,  35;    weight,  170;   well  built;   webbing 

belt  around  waist;  gray  trousers,  with  longitudinal  stripe; 
i  door  key  and  5  cents  in  silver,  trunk  key  and  Swedish 
newspaper. 

341.  Unknown. 

342.  Unknown — Male;    age,  60;    weight,  200;    sandy  hair;    wore 

heavy  buckle  shoes;   found  near  Hinckley. 

343.  Unknown — Boy;   age,  16;   found  near  Hinckley;   burned  be- 

yond recognition;  buried  in  Hinckley. 

344.  Unknown — Male;     age,    12;     found    near   Hinckley;     buried 

near  Hinckley;   nothing  to  identify. 

345.  Unknown — Female:    age,  12;    found  in  Hinckley  on  railroad 

track;   buried  in  Hinckley. 

346.  Unknown — Female;    age  about  6  months;    found  in  swamp, 

one-half  mile  north  of  Hinckley. 

347.  Unknown — Only  buttons  and  bones  left;    found  near  Eastern 

Minnesota  track  on  the  north  side  of  the  river. 

348.  Unknown — Male;    age,  25;    found  at  Pokegama;    not  iden- 

tified; buried  in  Pokegama. 

349.  Unknown — Girl;  age  about  5;  found  near  track  at  Pokegama; 

buried  at  Pokegama. 

350.  Unknown — Man;   age  about  30;   found  near  the  place  where 

the  limited  train  burned;  buried  in  Hinckley. 

351.  Unknown — Female;    age  about  20;    weight,    120;    found   in 

swamp,  one-half  mile  north  of  Hinckley. 

352.  Unknown — Male;  burned  beyond  recognition;   found  2  miles 

north  of  Hinckley;   buried  where  found. 

353.  Unknown — Girl ;  age,  3 ;  found  in  swamp,  one-half  mile  north 

of  Hinckley;  buried  in  Hinckley. 

354.  Unknown — Girl;  age  about  18;   found  i  mile  north  of  Hinck- 

ley, on  railroad  track;  nothing  else  to  identify;  buried  in 
Hinckley. 

355.  Unknown — Female;   age,  26;   found  north  of  Hinckley. 

356.  Unknown — Female;   age,  16;   found  near  Hinckley. 

357.  Unknown — Girl;  age,  6;  found  in  swamp,  one-half  mile  north 

of  Hinckley. 

358.  Unknown — Male;    age  about  27:    found  on  top  of  Hinckley 

•hill;  burned  beyond  recognition;   buried  where  found. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  123 

359.  Unknown — Male;  age,  14;  found  north  of  Hinckley ;  nothing 

to  identify;   buried  in  Hinckley. 

360.  Unknown — Female;    age   about   60;    found   near   Hinckley; 

nothing  further  known. 

361.  Unknown — Male;   age,  13;   found  near  Hinckley. 

362.  Unknown — Male;    age,  24;    found  i  mile  north  of  Hinckley, 

near  Eastern  Minnesota  railroad  track. 

363.  Unknown — Male;  age  about  19;   found  in  Hinckley. 

364.  Unknown — Male;   age,  2;    found  where  limited  train  burned; 

buried  in  Hinckley. 

365.  Unknown — Nothing  but  particles  of  bones  left;   found  in  the 

woods  north  of  Hinckley. 

366.  Unknown — Male;   age,  45;   found  near  Hinckley. 

367.  Unknown — Female;   age  about  45;   height,  5.03;  weight,  140; 

found  on  top  of  Hinckley  hill;  buried  in  Hinckley. 

368.  Unknown— Girl ;  age,  10;  wore  black  cashmere  dress ;  button 

shoes;  black  stockings;  found  in  swamp,  one-half  mile 
north  of  Hinckley. 

369.  Unknown — Female;    burned   beyond   recognition;    found  on 

Ernest  Hogan's  place,  3  miles  east  of  Hinckley;  buried 
where  found. 

370.  Unknown — Female;     burned    beyond    recognition;     found    3 

miles  east  of  Hinckley;  nothing  to  identify;  buried  where 
found. 

372.  Unknown — Boy;     age   about    12;    knee    pants,    white   waist; 

found  in  swamp,  one-half  mile  north  of  Hinckley. 

373.  Unknown. — Male;    only  bones  left;    found  between  St.  Paul 

&  Duluth  and  Eastern  Minnesota  tracks,  north  of  Hinck- 
ley. 

374.  Unknown — Female;   age,  7;   found  north  of  Grindstone  river, 

just  outside  the  village. 

375.  Unknown — Male;   age,  25;   found  100  yards  from  St.  Paul  & 

Duluth  track,  north  of  Hinckley. 

376.  Unknown — Male;    age  about  30;    found  in  swamp  north  of 

Hinckley;  watch  with  hair  chain  and  locket;  weight 
about  150;  buried  in  Hinckley;  nothing  but  shoes  left 
on  body. 

377-  Unknown — Male;  age,  25;  burned  beyond  recognition;  bur- 
ied in  Hinckley. 

378.  Unknown — Baby;  age  about  i  year;  found  in  road,  one-half 
mile  north  of  Hincklev. 


124  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

379.  Unknown — Male;    age,  7;    found   on  track   i   mile  north  of 

Hinckley;  wore  laced  shoes;  body  burned  beyond  recog- 
nition. 

380.  Unknown — Female;  age,  6;  found  near  the  river  in  Hinckley. 

381.  Unknown — Infant;   found  near  baby  carriage  in  swamp,  one- 

half  mile  north  of  Hinckley. 

382.  Unknown — Woman;  age  about  30;  gray  woolen  dress;  found 

in  the  woods  one-half  mile  north  of  Hinckley. 

383.  Unknown — Woman  about  40;    weight  about  160;    found  be- 

side track,  one  mile  north  of  Hinckley  hill. 

384.  Unknown — Male;    age   about   I   year;    found   on   road,   one- 

fourth  mile  north  of  Hinckley. 

385.  Unknown — Girl;  age,  10;  burned  beyond  recognition;   found 

one-half  mile  north  of  Hinckley. 

386.  Unknown — Male;   age,  25;   found  on  county  road;   buried  in 

Hinckley. 

387.  Unknown — Male;   age,  40;   found  on  county  road. 

388.  Unknown — Male;    sandy  complexion;    age,  40;    weight,  160; 

height,  5.08;  blue  blouse,  striped  pants,  silk  handkerchief 
and  tobacco  pouch;  thought  to  be  a  lumber  piler  for 
Brennan  Lumber  Co.,  Hinckley;  found  one-half  mile 
north  of  Hinckley. 

389.  Unknown — Male;    age  about  40;    weight,   190;    height,  5.10; 

wore  heavy  buckled  shoes;  found  on  bank  of  the  river, 
near  the  saw  mill,  Hinckley. 

390.  Unknown — Male;    age  about  25;    found  on  track  at  Pokeg- 

ama;   burned  beyond  recognition. 

391.  Unknown — Male;    age  about  70;    found  near  old  gravel  pit; 

buried  in  Hinckley. 

392.  Unknown — Baby;    female;    age  about  3   months;    found   in 

swamp  north  of  Hinckley. 

393.  Unknown — Boy,  age,   6;    found    i    mile   north   of  Hinckley, 

near  railroad  track;  burned  to  a  crisp;  buried  in  Hinck- 
ley. 

394.  Unknown — Boy;  age  about  12;   found  i  mile  north  of  Skunk 

Lake;    burned  beyond  recognition. 

295.     Unknown — Woman;   found  in  Hinckley;  burned  beyond  rec- 
ognition. 

396.  Unknown — Child;   agfe  about  4;    only  bones  left. 

397.  Unknown— Male ;    height,   5.10;    found  one-half  mile  north- 

east of  where  train  was  burned ;  buried  in  Hincklev. 


MINNESOTA  FOhEST  FIRES.  125 

398.  Unknown — Woman;    found  north-east  of  Hinckley;    burned 

beyond  recognition. 

399.  Unknown — Child;   found  north-east  of  Hinckley;   burned  be- 

yond recognition. 

400.  Unknown — Man;   only  bones  and  buckle  of  heavy  shoes  left. 

401.  Unknown — Female;    age  about   50;    weight,   130;    found   in 

swamp,  one-half  mile  north  of  Hinckley. 

402.  Unknown — Child;    age,   2;    found   in  swamp,  one-half  mile 

north  of  Hinckley;   buried  in  Hinckley. 

403.  Unknown — Lumberman;   age,  45;  weight,  170;  height,  5'.io; 

buried  in  Hinckley. 

404.  Unknown — Girl,  age,  17;  found  one-half  mile  north  of  Hinck- 

ley;  buried  in  Hinckley. 

405.  Unknown — Girl;    age,  7;    found  with  body  of  Airs.  William 

Costigan. 

406.  Unknown — Girl;   age,  5;   found  with  Mrs.  William  Costigan; 

burned  beyond  recognition. 

407.  Unknowm — Girl;    age,    14;    found    north   of  Hinckley,    near 

Great  Northern  railroad  track. 

408.  Unknown — Man;  age,  40;   weight,  150;   buried  in  Hinckley. 

409.  Unknown — Boy;  age,  3;  found  in  swamp,  one-half  mile  north 

of  Hinckley. 

410.  Unknown — Girl;  age,  6;   found  in  swamp,  one-half  mile  north 

of  Hinckley. 

411.  Unknown — Lumberman;   age  about  30;   wore  blue  mackinaw 

suit,  heavy  shoes;  found  2  miles  north  of  Hinckley. 

412.  Unknown — Girl;  age  about  16;  found  i  mile  east  of  Pokega- 

ma;    buried  in  Pokegama. 

413.  L'nknown — Male;    nothing  but  bones  and  jack  knife  found; 

burned  in  mill  yard. 

HINCKLEY,  MINN.,  Nov.  24,  1894. 

This  is  to  certify  that  the  foregoing  death  list  is  correct  to  date,  to 
the  best  of  my  knowledge  and  belief. 

D.  W.  COWAX,  M.  D., 
Coroner,  Pine  County. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


REV.  FATHER  BURKE,  M.  A. 


"THE  NO.  4  LIMITED." 

F  HIS  is  one  of  the  few  trains  which  in  the  northwest,  and  in  the 
railway  world,  will  become  historic  from  the  fact  that  it  was  in  the 
greatest  fire  Minnesota  ever  had  and  that  it  was  all  burned  except 
the  engine  and  tender,  and  its  passengers  had  to  escape  for  their 
lives.  All  were  saved  except  one.  The  heroism  of  those  in  charge 
of  the  train  has  been  told  wherever  English  is  spoken,  and  will  live 
in  song  and  story  as  long  as  knowledge  of  the  fire  exists.  It  is 
easy  fcr  men  who  were  not  there  to  say  what  could  have  been  done, 
which  was  not,  but  it  will  ever  stand,  clear  as  a  mountain  peak  in 
sunlight,  that  ro  man  left  his  post  or  was  untrue  to  his  trust  at 
a  time  v;hen  it  looked  as  if  the  heavens  would  pass  away  and  the 
earth  melt  with  fervent  heat. 

The  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  Railway  Company  runs  a  train  daily 
on  fast  time  from  Duluth  to  St.  Paul.  It  usually  starts  from  Du- 
luth at  1 155.  Such  trains  are  always  of-icered  by  men  of  known 
character,  skill,  and  experience.  The  risks  are  far  too  great  to 
place  them  in  any  other  hands.  On  the  day  of  the  fire  No.  4  was 
in  charge  of  Thomas  Sullivan,  conductor,  Beaumont  street,  St.  Paul, 
who  had  been  seven  years  in  th-e  company's  service;  James  Root, 
of  White  Bear  Lake,  engineer,  who  had  been  in  their  employ  more 
than  22  years.  J.  McGowan,  St.  Paul,  fireman,  seven  years  in  the 
service;  J.  W.  Blair,  St.  Paul,  porter  of  chair  car,  seven  years  in 
the  company's  employ.  The  news  agent  was  Herman  J.  Mawnhart, 
St.  Paul.  These  were  the  men  who  passed  the  fiery  ordeal  with  such 
distinction.  Only  one  passenger  was  lost,  Mr.  Rowley,  and  he  no 
doubt  was  bewildered  and  thus  parted  from  the  other  passengers. 

ST.  PAUL,  MINN.,  April  20.  1895 
REV.  WILLIAM  WILKINSON,  DEAR  SIR: 

Replying  to  your  favor  of  the  i/th  inst,  please  note  the  information 
you  ask  entered  at  the  bottom  of  your  letter.  A.  L.  Thomson 
was  agent  at  Miller  at  the  time  of  the  fire,  but  has  since  been  trans- 
ferred to  Hugo.  127 


128  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

Your  letter  of  the  i7th  inst.  to  Mr.  Brooke  has  been  referred 
to  me  and  in  answer  thereto  I  beg  to  say  that  we  had  about  22  miles 
of  main  track  badly  damaged,  being  obliged  to  replace  about  22,000 
ties  in  the  above  length  of  track.  We  lost  one  open  culvert  o\ 
about  twelve  foot  span  and  two  pile  trestles,  one  30  feet  long  and 
the  other  70  feet  long.  In  addition  to  this  all  of  the  ties  were 
burnt  on  our  steel  through  span  bridge  over  the  Grindstone  river 
at  Hinckley,  the  length  of  this  bridge  being  90  feet.  In  addition 
to  the  above  loss  all  of  the  company's  buildings  at  Hinckley  con- 
sisting of  the  following:  Station  building,  two  section  houses,  tank 
and  pump  house,  coal  bin,  turn-table,  and  engine  house,  were  de- 
stroyed. All  the  tracks  in  Hinckley  yard  were  made  impassable 
by  the  fire.  The  station  building  at  Miller  was  also  destroyed. 

As  I  believe  I  have  already  advised  you  all  of  the  coaches  in  out 
train  No.  4,  of  September  ist,  were  burned,  the  train  consisting  oi 
one  combination  car,  one  day  coach,  and  two  chair  cars;  engine 
was  badly  damaged.  In  addition  to  the  above  32  freight  cars  were 
destroyed  and  about  18  miles  of  fence.  Yours  truly, 

L.  s.  'MILLER, 

Ass't.  Gen'l.  Manager, 
WHITE  BEAR  LAKE,  Feb.  3,  1895. 
REV.  WILLIAM  WILKINSON,  DEAR  SIR: 

I  am  glad  to  learn  you  are  to  write  up  the  Hinckley  episode,  to 
which,  I  feel  sure,  your  graphic  pen  will  do  ample  justice. 

During  the  Anglo-African  war  of  1879,  journeying  in  India,  al- 
most every  night  for  nearly  a  year  I  witnessed  many  a  scene  of 
death  and  disaster,  but  never  anything  so  appalling  as  what  you 
«nd  I  saw  at  Hinckley  that  dread  Monday  evening,  when,  standing 
between  the  living  and  the  dead,  we  spoke  words  of  consolation 
and  religion.  Shall  we  ever  forget  those  tragic  scenes  of  clouds 
of  fire  and  smoke,  of  charred  men  and  beasts  and  trees?  Was  it 
not  a  magnificent  panorama  in  miniature  of  the  end  of  the  world? 

I  never  realized  so  vividly  this  great  event  described  in  Holy 
Scripture  as  I  did  during  the  four  days  I  spent  in  the  burnt  dis- 
trict tending  the  sick,  consoling  the  desolate  and  burying  the  dead, 
in  company  with  my  dear  friend,  Father  Bajice,  pastor  of  Rush  City. 
We  buried  the  dead  at  Hinckley,  Pine  City  and  Rush  City,  not  to 
mention  that  we  also  attended  the  hospital  and  the  homes  of  the 
unfortunate  ones. 

I  served  as  a  member  of  the  general  and  burial  committees. 

Yours  trulv,  T.  BURKE. 


MINXESOTJ.  FOREST  FIRES.  129 

JAMES  ROOT  IX  THE  FIRE. 

The  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  Limited,  Xo.  4,  left  Duluth  Septem- 
ber ist,  1894,  at  1:55  p.  m.  The  day  was  rather  cloudy 
and  very  sultry.  As  we  started  out, '  I  remarked  to  my  xireman 
that  we  were  liable  to  have  a  storm.  We  continued  without  any 
special  experience  until  \ve  reached  what  was  known  as  the  junc- 
tion, where  it  got  very  dark  and  very  warm.  After  \ve  left  Carletcn 
we  lighted  our  cab  lamp  (to  see  the  water  glass),  and  the  lamps 
in  the  coaches  were  all  lighted,  I  understood.  We  continued  our 
journey,  seeing  nothing  unusual  in  regard  to  forest  fires,  but  were 
running  through  total  darkness  about  forty  miles. 

Just  before  I  came  to  Hinckley  hill  the  smoke  (or  cloud)  had 
cleared  away  so  I  could  see  Hinckley  very  clearly,  and  I  discovered 
a  number  of  men  and  women  running  towards  the  track,  from  all 
directions.  I  said  to  my  fireman,  "There  is  something  wrong," 
and  I  applied  the  air  brake  and  stopped  the  train.  The  first  three 
females  to  approach  were  an  old  lady  and  two  daughters.  I  got 
off  the  the  engine  and  asked  \vhat  was  the  trouble.  The  only  re- 
ply was,  "For  God's  sake,  will  you  save  us?"  I  told  them  to  get 
aboard  the  train.  People  kept  coming,  but  there  was  no  fire  that 
I  could  see,  in  any  direction.  The  people  kept  climbing  in.  Mr. 
Bartlett  and  his  wife,  who  kept  the  eating  house,  were  -bout  the 
last  couple  that  came.  I  asked  Mr.  Bartlett  to  tell  me  what  was 
the  trouble  at  Hinckley.  He  said  "Every  thing  is  burned  tp! 
Everything  is  on  fire,  including  the  depot  and  track  house."  I  said. 
"Get  aboard  the  train  and  we  will  go  back  to  Skunk  lake."  I  said 
to  Sullivan,  the  conductor,  "Look  after  the  end  of  the  train.  I  am 
going  back  to  Skunk  lake."  He  said,  "We  will  never  get  there 
alive.''  I  said,  'Then  we  will  die  together,"  and  I  pulled  the  engine 
out  and  started.  Mr.  Bartlett  and  his  wife  got  aboard  the  engine 
and  just  as  I  got  on  and  was  reversing  the  lever,  the  wind  arose, 
I  looked  towards  Hinckley  and  saw  a  small  cloud  of  smoke  or  dust 
at  the  bridge.  Before  I  opened  my  engine  there  came  an  explosion 
and  it  broke  the  cab  window  and  carried  a  piece  of  the  glass  to 
the  further  end  of  the  engine  cab.  That  fell  and  struck  me  on  the 
side  of  the  head  and  cut  a  gash  in  my  neck  and  on  the  forehead. 
The  left  side  of  my  head  and  face  were  pretty  well  cut  up,  although 
I  didn't  feel  anything  the  worse.  The  cut  in  my  neck  bled  a  great 
deal — pretty  much  all  the  blood  in  my  body,  I  should  think.  The 
end  of  my  train  ignited  at  that  moment,  and  the  fuel  car — even  the 
top  of  big  Hinckley  hill  I  heard  a  hollering  and  saw  three  men  flee- 


130 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


JAMES  ROOT. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  131 

ing.  I  shut  the  engine  off  and  applied  the  air.  I  took  a  second 
thought  and  said  to  myself  "If  I  stop  the  windlass  it  will  stop  the 
train  and  we  shall  all  be  burned  alive."  I  opened  the  throttle.  Two 
of  those  men  got  onto  the  pilot.  One  man  caught  onto  the  pilot 
for  a  short  distance  and  fell  off  and  was  burned.  The  other  man 
rode  to  Skunk  lake  on  the  pilot.  There  he  got  off.  After  we  got 
over  the  top  of  Big  Hinckley  hill  it  appears  that  I  fainted  and  fell 
back  in  my  engine.  I  presume  my  engine  must  have  run  a  mile 
or  a  little  more,  probably  nearly  two  miles;  when  I  came  to  again 
I  looked  up  at  the  gauge.  The  engine  was  going  very  slow;  I 
was  just  approaching  Little  Hinckley  Hfll,  within  a  mile  of  the  Hinck- 
ley line.  I  had  only  95  of  steam.  I  had  my  hand  on  the  throttle. 
I  presume  that  in  leaning  over  I  had  shut  the  steam  off  to  a  certain 
extent,  but  not  wholly.  It  was  very  dark.  I  didn't  think  we  were 
at  our  destination,  so  I  opened  the  throttle  again.  Nobody  was  on 
the  engine  but  myself.  I  saw  my  fireman  stick  his  head  out  of  the 
water  hole  of  the  tank.  When,  or  in  what  position  I  was  when 
he  left  I  don't  know.  I  presume  I  must  have  been  on  the  seat,  but 
I  don't  know  anything  about  that.  He  came  out  of  the  water  hole. 
When  he  got  to  me  my  head  was  swinging  back  and  forth  again. 
He  put  out  his  hand  to  stop  me  from  falling.  The  water  dripping 
from  his  coat  sleeve  spattered  my  face  and  I  said,  "My  God!  give 
me  some  more  of  that."  It  seemed  to  revive  me.  I  said,  "Go  and 
draw  a  pail  of  water,"  and  he  did  so  and  I  dipped  my  hands  right 
into  the  pail.  I  said,  "My  hands  are  all  burnt.  I  don't  dare  rub 
them  for  fear  of  rubbing  the  flesh  off."  My  hands  were  all  puffed 
up.  He  says,  "Mine  are  burnt,  too,"  and  he  dipped  his  in  the  water 
also.  Then  I  took  the  pail  and  said,  "Let  me  have  it  and  put  some 
more  water  in."  He  said  he  didn't  know  where  it  was.  I  brought  a 
light  and  showed  him  a  little  water  at  the  side  of  the  track.  I  knew 
there  was  none  for  fifteen  miles  except  this.  I  stopped  on  Skunk 
lake  bridge.  We  were  a  little  too  far  and  I  said  I  would  pull  ahead 
about  a  car  length.  I  did  so,  and  then  fell  again,  through  weakness. 
I  said,  "Leave  me  alone  and  go  help  the  passengers  into  the  water." 
He  said,  "You  can't  live  here."  I  told  him  to  go,  that  I  was  all 
right.  I  concluded  I  could  take  care  of  myself.  He  left  me  and 
took  the  pail  and  undertook  to  throw  water  onto  the  cars  so  the  pas- 
sengers could  get  out  of  the  coaches.  He  came  back  to  help  me, 
and  he  and  another  man  assisted  me  onto  the  ground  and  I  hurried 
myself  into  the  water  and  laid  there,  I  don't  know  how  long  — prob- 


132  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

ably  three  or  four  hours.  I  became  very  numb — had  no  feeling 
from  my  hips  down.  I  pulled  myself  onto  the  land  and  laid  there 
awhile.  Feeling  came  back  to  me  and  I  commenced  to  chill.  I 
said,  "I  am  going  to  get  warm,  somehow.  I  am  going  back  to  the 
engine."  It  was  along  towards  ten  or  eleven  o'clock — I  don't  just 
know  what  time.  He  says,  "You  can't  live  on  the  engine  for  the  coal  is 
all  on  fire."  He  assisted  me  and  I  laid  down  on  the  deck  of  the 
engine.  I  told  him  then  to  get  the  men  to  come  help  shovel  the 
coal  out  of  the  tank.  He  came  back  and  said,  "I  can't.  It  is  too 
much."  I  says,  "Get  down  under  the  engine  and  let  the  engine 
off  and  we  will  run  away."  We  did  so  and  stayed  the  balance  of 
the  night.  Everything  about  the  coaches  burned  up. 

During  the  night  Air.  Anderson,  of  Minneapolis,  came  to  me  and 
wet  my  eyes  with  a  cloth.  The  great  difficulty  seemed  to  be  with 
our  eyes. 

The  first  relief  crowd  came  from  Duluth.  I  started  to  go  with  the 
crowd  back  that  way,  but  I  was  too  weak;  I  saw  I  would  take  up 
the  room  of  three  or  four,  so  I  let  the  other  folks  go  and  I  remained 
there  for  another  train.  An  hcur  and  a  half  or  two  hours  after- 
wards there  came  a  relief  crowd  from  Hinckley  with  hand  cars  and 
push  cars.  I  got  on  one  of  those  push  cars,  and  with  the  assistance 
of  Saunders,  who  supported  my  head,  stayed  there  until  we  got  to 
Hinckley.  There  we  found  a  relief  train  waiting  to  convey  us  to 
Pine  City  and  thence  to  St.  Paul.  I  got  off  at  White  Bear,  where  I 
lived.  Dr.  Francis  Clark  came  and  dressed  my  wounds. 

Robert  M.  Bell,  superintendent  and  secretary  of  Duluth  Union 
Depot  and  Transfer  Co.,  at  Duluth,  twenty-five  years  a  railroad 
man  with  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  all  the  time,  writes: 

We  left  Duluth  on  train  for  the  south  at  1:55  p.  m.,  September  ist, 
1894.  No  danger  apparent  till  within  a  mile  of  Hinckley,  at  a  few 
minutes  past  four,  was  due  there  at  4:10.  Here  the  refugees  began 
to  appear  which  caused  us  to  stop.  The  passengers  saw  the  flames 
coming  from  a  southwest  quarter,  driven  by  a  strong  wind.  They 
saw  at  once  what  the  conditions  were;  the  glass  was  all  broken  and 
driven  in  from  that  side,  and  they  at  once  took  the  middle  aisle  and 
called  for  water.  A  little  fellow  who  was  with  his  father  shouted, 
"O  father,  we  are  dead!" 

I  was  at  the  end  of  the  car.  Blair  and  I  began  to  pass  out  water 
from  the  ladies'  toilet  room.  Blair  was  a  colored  porter  on  the 
chair  car.  At  this  time  the  car  was  on  fire  underneath.  This  was 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  132 

kept  up  until  the  train  stopped.  Hinckley  Big  Hill  is  two  miles 
from  Hinckley  proper;  after  this  is  another  hill  called  Little  Hinckley 
Hill;  the  top  of  this  is  about  four  miles  from  Hinckley  proper,  and 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  South  Skunk  lake.  This  was  a  race 
for  dear  life  to  get  to  the  lake.  One  woman  took  on  badly;  she 
fainted  and  some  of  the  passengers  bathed  her  face,  etc.  I  got  out 
and  tried  to  put  out  the  fire  under  the  car;  it  was  useless.  The  por- 
ter brought  down  a  fire  extinguisher;  it  could  not  be  used.  I  called 
my  daughter  and  started  to  walk  the  track,  to  the  north.  We  got 
to  the  hand  car  house  and  broke  it  open;  "necessity  knows  no  law." 
We  got  a  hand  car  which  had  a  keg  of  water  on.  How  the  people 
did  gulp  that  down!  We  filled  the  car  with  people  and  made  for 
the  station  house. 

Sullivan,  the  conductor,  \vent  in  to  see  what  he  could  find  out  by 
telegraph,  but  the  wires  south  of  Miller  were  all  down  and  I  was 
called  to  come  in.  Sullivan  was  sitting  on  a  bench  and  some  of 
the  people  were  bathing  his  head  with  water.  He  said,  "O,  Mr. 
Bell,  all  the  passengers  are  burned!"  When  he  was  quieted  down  I 
asked  the  agent  what  the  chance  was  for  a  train  from  the  north. 
He  said  Roper  had  orders  to  come  from  Willow  river  and  was  ex- 
pected to  be  here  in  fifteen  minutes.  I  was  thinking  whether  it 
would  be  safe  to  proceed  with  our  hand  car.  The  agent,  Mr.  Thom- 
son, said  that  it  certainly  would  not  be  safe,  because  Roper  with 
his  train  was  liable  to  come  any  time;  and  besides,  the  woods  were 
on  fire  just  north  of  us  on  both  sides  of  the  track.  This  was  the 
safest  place  anyhow,  this  part  of  the  country  was  all  burned  over, 
nothing  more  remained  to  be  burned  except  the  station  house  and 
a  few  cars.  We  decided  that  he  was  right.  We  then  threw  the 
hand  car  off  the  main  track  onto  the  siding.  The  flames  soon  be- 
gan to  come  again,  and  in  sheer  self  defense  we  began  to  walk 
north.  We  walked  probably  two  and  one-half  miles,  to  near  Fin- 
layson  depot,  which  is  three  and  six-tenths  miles  from  Miller.  Here 
we  were  met  by  Roper's  train.  He  was  conductor,  Peter  Kelly  was 
the  engineer.  They  were  the  first  people  we  had  seen,  and  of  course 
wanted  to  know  all  they  could  be  told  about  the  disaster.  We  told 
them  all  we  knew.  They  said,  "You  go  to  Finlayson,  which  is  near; 
we  will  go  as  far  as  we  can,  help  all  we  can,  come  back  sure  and 
pick  you  up  on  our  way  home  to  Duluth."  This  is  what  we  did 
We  found  water  and  had  an  opportunity  to  wash,  and  we  found  a 
pitcher  of  milk  and  drank  it.  Soon  the  hot  waves  began  to  reach 


134 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  135 

us.  We  were  not  going  to  take  a^ny  more  chances  we  could  avoid, 
and  we  set  again  north.  There  were  twenty-one  persons  in  this 
party  in  all,  Airs.  Bartlett,  my  daughter  Josie,  fourteen  years  old, 
and  Freight  Conductor  Wellman's  daughter,  May,  about  the  same 
age.  We  kept  on  walking  until  we  came  to  a  big  cut,  about  two 
miles  north  of  Finlayson.  We  sat  down  and  heard  Roper's  train 
on  its  way  toward  us ;  no  sound  could  be  more  welcome.  They  took 
us  on.  This  train  brought  us  to  Willow  River  station.  It  had  on 
the  refugees  they  had  picked  up  from  Root's  train.  Here  we  met 
the  first  relief  train  from  Duluth,  in  charge  of  David  H.  Williams, 
who  is  yard  master  on  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  road  at  Duluth. 

We  had  a  doctor  on  board  our  train,  who  attended  to  our  eyes ;  the 
smoke,  heat  and  cinders  had  mad'e  our  eyes  too  painful  to  endure 
and  hard  to  see.  Several  of  our  party  had  to  be  led  by  the  hand. 

Air.  Williams,  yard  master,  Mr.  Vance,  general  agent  of  the  St. 
Paul  and  Duluth  railroad  at  Duluth,  asked  us  what  the  extent  of 
the  calamity  was  and  what  was  the  general  situation.  I  told  them 
all  I  knew.  The  relief  train  returned  with  Mr.  Vance  in  charge, 
Air.  Williams,  with  Roper's  engine,  tender  and  box  car.  We  went 
to  Miller,  found  three  trestles  burnt  out.  These  we  repaired  with 
supplies  \ve  had  with  us  in  the  box  car.  We  went  on  half  a  mile, 
found  a  trestle,  twelve  feet  wide  and  twelve  feet  deep,  burnt  out,  and 
had  not  material  enough  to  repair  it.  Took  the  hand  car  and  started 
on,  leaving  engine. 

We  had  Dr.  Magie  (who  is  the  company's  regular  surgeon,)  and 
Dr.  Codding,  Conductor  Roper  and  part  of  his  crew,  and  at  a  point 
near  old  Sandstone  Junction  we  found  the  corpses  of  a  lady  and 
four  children  near  two  other  children,  all  beside  the  track,  bodies 
nude.  With  the  second  two  children  was  a  lady's  traveling  bag, 
leather,  one  of  the  old  style.  We  tried  to  open  it  to  see  if  it  con- 
tained anything  to  show  who  the  dead  were,  but  we  could  not  open 
it.  We  threw  it  on  the  hand  car  and  started  on  our  way  to  Skunk 
lake.  When  daylight  came,  we  broke  open  the  bag;  it  contained 
$3,500  in  currency  certificates  of  deposit.  It  was  the  property  of 
Mrs.  McNamara,  the  wife  of  section  foreman  at  Hinckley,  and  it 
was  his  wife  and  family  who  lay  in  the  stillness  of  death.  It  was 
given  to  the  owner. 

We  kept  on  till  we  got  to  Skunk  lake.  Here  we  saw  the  coal 
of  Root's  train  afire;  all  was  still.  I  said  to  Dr.  Magie,  "Can  it 
be  they  are  all  dead?  Let  us  holler."  We  did  so,  and  were 


136  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

promptly  answered  by  many  voices  from  the  swamp.  We  ran  to- 
ward the  people.  The  first  man  we  reached  was  Senator  Dougher- 
ty, of  Duluth,  next  Mr.  Blades,  manager  of  Crown  Hardware  Co., 
Duluth,  John  Blair,  the  colored  pcrter,  \vho  told  us  all  he  could. 
The  two  doctors  began  to  treat  all  who  suffered.  One  man  had  a 
cut  in  his  leg  from  glass  flying  'from  the  window  in  the  car ;  all  had 
trouble  with  their  eyes.  We  found  how  many  could  walk  three 
miles;  some  said  they  could;  most  said  we  will  stay  till  a  train  can 
be  got  here.  We  left  the  doctors  in  charge  of  the  people  and  made 
our  way  to  the  engine  we  had  left.  Then  we  went  to  Rutledge,  about 
nine  miles,  woke  up  the  mill  men  of  the  mill  company,  got  timber, 
tools  and  mill  hands,  and  took  them  to  the  burned  out  culvert  to 
repair  it.  We  got  it  fixed  in  the  early  morning.  I  never  saw  men 
respond  quicker  than  those  Rutledge  men  did,  or  work  harder. 
The  culvert  repaired  would  not  have  taken  a  gold  medal  for  beauty, 
but  it  was  good,  and  firm  as  a  rock. 

We  went  to  the  people  at  Skunk  lake,  loaded  them  on  and  also 
an  old  greyhound.  I  took  care  of  him,  helped  to  keep  him,  but 
when  well,  he  left  me.  He  is  a  tramp  now  about  town  here.  We 
got  back  to  Miller  but  could  go  no  further,  because  of  its  being 
a  single  line  to  Duluth,  and  I  had  telegraphed  from  Rutledge  when 
I  went  for  the  supplies  and  men,  to  start  another  relief  train  and 
to  fetch  the  people  to  Duluth,  and  told  them  to  come  to  Miller  re- 
gardless of  me.  The  wires  were  down  from  Miller  to  Rutledge, 
so  in  the  interests  of  safety  I  had  to  wait  at  Miller  with  my  train 
and  people,  and  here  we  had  to  stay  half  an  hour,  then  had  men  take 
hand  cars  and  flag  me  to  Rutledge.  Met  the  Duluth  train  and 
placed  the  refugees  on  this  train.  Wellman  was  in  charge  as  con- 
ductor and  Engineer  Killroy.  My  conductor,  Roper,  I  instructed 
to  follow  to  Carlton,  this  being  a  coal  and  water  station.  I  came  on 
with  Wellman,  but  when  I  got  to  Willow  River,  I  found  the  set- 
tlers and  citizens  alarmed  for  their  safety  should  fire  break  out,  so 
I  had  Roper  stay  with  his  train  at  that  place  to  take  the  people 
away  if  need  be.  We  got  to  Duluth  about  12:30  Sunday  noon. 
Went  back  after  dinner  with  another  train  to  repair  the  track ;  worked 
all  day  and  night  clearing  wreck  and  repairing  trestles,  and  met 
Assistant  General  Miller  and  Master  of  Transportation  Mr.  Brown, 
about  10  a.  m.  Monday,  September  3d.  They  had  come  from  the 
south  on  a  hand  car.  Traffic  was  resumed  over  all  the  road  on 
the  afternoon  of  that  day. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  137 

STATEMENT  OF  HON.  FRANK  B.  DAUaHERTY. 
I  was  one  of  the  passengers  en  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  Limited  on 
September  ist  and  had  with  me  my  son,  Otto,  a  lad  about  ten  years 
old.  It  had  been  smoky  for  several  days  and  this  had  annoyed  us 
from  the  start,  but  at  Barnum  it  grew  so  dense  that  the  porter  lit 
the  lamps.  The  lights,  however,  for  some  reason,  seemed  but  very 
dismal  attempts  at  illumination.  At  Miller  this  darkness  became 
less  heavy,  the  densest  smoke  seemed  to  have  been  lifted  into  a 
cooler  stratum  of  air  and  this  lit  up  the  atmosphere  in  a  very  pecu- 
liar way — into  a  sort  of  dull,  glowing,  yellowish  twilight,  which  had 
a  brilliant  but  at  the  same  time  unnatural  effect  on  things  within 
range  of  vision. 

Of  course  the  kind  and  extent  of  the  danger  we  afterwards  ran 
into  had  not  been  anticipated,  but  it  could  not  be  denied  that  things 
wore  an  exceedingly  ugly  outlook  ahead.  At  one  time  I  fancied 
I  saw  a  great  mass  of  flames,  "a  sea  of  flame,"  in  fact,  some  miles  ahead 
over  the  timber,  but  my  apprehensions,  and  I  think  those  of  my  fel- 
low passengers  generally,  were  confined  to  the  danger  we  might  run 
into  in  going  through  the  forest  region.  It  had  never  occurred 
to  me,  at  least,  that  we  might  be  compelled  to  run  back.  Nothing 
more  startling  happened  on  the  "run"  from  Miller  toward  Hinckley, 
than  that  the  smoke  increased  as  we  approached,  until  we  were 
"flagged"  a  mile  or  so  this  side  of  that  place  by  the  people  coming 
to  meet  us.  This  took  place  in  an  old  clearing  or  meadow,  and 
here  the  smoke  lifted  again  so  much  that  it  was  made  a  subject  for 
remark,  for  we  seemed  to  breathe  freer  and  could  see  clearly  through 
it  the  people  streaming  along  toward  us.  As  they  were  assisted 
into  the  cars  we  gathered  from  them  that  the  whole  surrounding 
country  seemed  to  be  on  fire  and  that  Hinckley  was  burning  up. 

The  brightening  of  the  atmosphere  was  but  a  cruel  illusion,  prob- 
ably due  to  the  smoke  being  driven  forward  to  give  place  to  the 
destructive  element  itself  in  its  living  force,  for  even  while  the  poor 
people  were  yet  coming,  a  stream  of  fire  struck  the  train  from  the 
southwest,  leaving  it  ablaze  underneath  and  in  other  more  inflam- 
mable parts.  At  this  the  train  commenced  to  move  backward  and 
the  poor  unfortunates  who  did  not  reach  us  in  time  must  have  per- 
ished in  a  peculiarly  cruel  way  within  the  very  sight  of  relief,  and  yet 
the  laws  of  self  preservation  could  not  have  permitted  the  saving  of 
another  life,  for  in  less  than  the  minute  the  train  itself,  the  fancied 
haven  of  refuge  for  so  many,  was  in  the  midst  of  a  terrific  struggle 


138 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MR.  BARTLETT. 


MRS.  BARTLETT 


f 

*c 


BRAKE/WAN  MONAHAN. 


R.  BELL. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  139 

for  existence,  it  was  in  fact  running  "a  cheek  and  jowl"  race  with 
death.  The  run  to  Skunk  lake  has  been  described  so  often  that  I 
do  not  care  to  enter  into  the  details  minutely  again.  That  the 
unprecedented  occurrences  should  create  a  commontion  among  the 
passengers  need  not  be  said.  Several  gentlewomen  fainted  from 
shocks  of  terror  in  the  car  my  son  and  I  occupied,  and  that  both 
men  and  women  became  strongly  excited  in  different  ways  and  to 
different  degrees,  goes  without  saying.  Those  who,  like  myself,  rad 
somebody  else  to  see  to,  were  probably  the  best  off,  as  their  solici- 
tude for  the  loved  ones  would  to  a  certain  extent  take  the  mind  from 
self  and  so  rob  the  situation  of  some  of  its  terrors.  Thus  Mrs. 
Saunders,  of  St.  Paul,  had  seven  young  charges — some  of  them  her 
own — to  care  for,  and  I  do  not  think  there  was  a  lady  on  the  train 
that  showed  more  self  command.  My  son  Otto  became  alarmed 
at  the  unusual  occurrences  and  the  excitement  prevailing,  and  turned 
his  frightened  face  up  to  me  with,  "Have  we  got  to  die  papa,  have 
we  got  to  die?"  I  summoned  all  my  strength  for  his  sake  ind  un- 
dertook to  assure  him  as  well  as  I  could  that  it  would  be  best  for 
him  to  keep  very  still  and  quiet,  for  as  long  as  the  cars  were  mo  -ing 
all  would  be  well.  In  this  way,  or  some  such  way,  I  succeeded  in 
quieting  him,  when  a  great  big  fellow,  evidently  a  religious  fanatic, 
with  eyes  bulging  out  of  his  head  went  through  the  car  shout- 
ing, "We  are  all  going  to  heaven  together."  I  was  very  angry  with 
him  for  undoing  my  work  and  frightening  all  the  children  and 
passengers  as  well,  and  said  to  him  very  decidedly,  that  it  might  be 
so,  but  I  wished  he  would  keep  his  pious  opinions  to  himself. 

The  apprehension  that  something  would  stop  the  train,  hung  very 
heavily  on  my  mind;  in  fact  we  did  experience  several  severe  lurches 
as  if  it  had  struck  obstructions  and  cleared  them  with  difficulty. 
These  lurches  may  have  been  due  to  the  sinking  of  the  track  over 
burning  culverts  or  to  branches  from  burning  trees  fallen  across 
it,  or  it  may  have  been  to  passing  over  bodies  of  flesh,  brute  or 
human;  whatever  the  cause  was,  had  the  obstruction  been  heavy 
enough  to  stop  the  train,  no  power  on  earth  could  have  saved  us. 
I  knew  nothing  of  Skunk  lake  at  this  time  or  of  any  attempt  to 
get  there.  I  supposed  we  were  simply  running  to  get  out  of  the 
fire,  and  I  have  since  been  thankful  that  I  did  not  know,  for  it  would 
have  added  to  the  hopelessness  of  our  situation.  That  our  engine 
was  running  short  of  water  at  this  time,  that  we  could  not  have 
got  farther  than  that  place  from  this  cause  alone.  But  there  was 


140 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


f 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  141 

yet  another  reason  that  would  have  made  it  impossible  to  proceed 
farther;  the  train  was  burning  up.  The  day  coach  was  entirely  en- 
veloped in  sheets  of  flame  so  that  most  of  the  people  in  leaving  it 
had  their  clothing  or  wearing  apparel  caught  and  their  hands  or 
faces  singed  or  blistered.  The  rear  chair  car  was  not  yet  burning 
so  badly  but  that  it  might  have  been  saved,  and  1  suggested  to  Con- 
ductor Sullivan  that  it  be  uncoupled  and  shoved  back;  my  idea  was 
to  occupy  it  as  long  as  possible  as  a  shelter  against  the  flames  in 
the  hopes,  of  course,  that  they  we  uld  soon  pass  over.  A  few  of  us, 
about  a  dozen,  were  at  the  rear  of  train  when  I  made  this  proposition; 
but  Sullivan  said  something  about  another  train  coming,  he  evi- 
dently had  in  mind  Roper's,  and  started  up  the  track,  the  others  fol- 
lowing. That  is,  I  presume  the  others  had  followed,  for  while  I  had 
stepped  back  into  the  St.  Paul  car  for  my  boy's  skull  cap  they  had 
disappeared.  The  other  passengers  had  all  disappeared  too,  hav- 
ing been  conducted  by  the  porter,  Blair,  and  News  Agent  Manhart 
into  the  marsh  which  I  had  neither  knowledge  of  nor  power  to  see, 
so  my  son  and  I  found  ourselves  quite  alone  on  a  burning  train  and 
in  a  sea  of  smoke. 

I  tied  up  Otto's  head  with  some  linen  furniture  coverings  and 
left  the  track  on  the  west  side,  groping  for  some  place  of  shelter. 
We  found  some  tall  grass  on  low  ground  (this  was  on  the  edge  of 
the  marsh,  although  we  did  not  know  it),  but  was  afraid  this  would 
simply  add  more  fuel  to  the  general  combustion  and  went  to  higher 
ground  in  a  potato  patch. 

Here  we  fell  in  with  two  gentlewomen,  one,  Mrs.  Minne  Spriggs,  of 
Duluth,  with  a  baby  in  her  arms  some  six  months  old,  and  her  r.ister, 
Annie  Kernan,  of  St.  Paul,  and  without  any  design  on  the  part  of 
either  we  were  compelled  to  keep  together,  for  we  had  only  just 
met  when  a  sheet  of  flame  came  and  compelled  us  simply  to  drop 
where  we  were.  I  laid  my  body  over  that  of  my  son  as  much  as 
possible  and  we  were  doing  fairly  well  under  the  circumstances, 
when  one  of  our  neighbors  screamed  that  her  clothes  were  on  fire. 
This  threw  me  into  a  terrible  state  of  mind;  I  was  afraid  to  leave 
my  boy,  but  the  woman  screamed  that  she  was  burning  up  and  it 
was  then  that  Otto  encouraged  me.  "Don't  let  the  poor  !ady  burn 
up,  papa,  I  am  all  right,"  and  I  busied  myself  at  once  and  succeeded 
in  tearing  the  fire  out  of  their  dresses. 

There  seems  to  have  been  three  distinct  sheets  or  streams  of  fire 
passing  over  us,  the  two  following  very  like  the  last,  and  each  time 


142  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

the  dresses  of  the  poor  women  would  catch  and  the  operation  of 
"putting  it  out"  had  to  be  repeated. 

At  the  end  of  what  might  be  called  this  third  "baptism  of  fire" 
we  witnessed  a  very  curious  phenomenon  (I  speak  of  it  here  because 
I  have  not  heard  it  mentioned  by  others).  It  resembled  nothing  so 
much  than  I  can  think  of  as  a  heavy  snow  fall,  with  this  difference, 
that  instead  of  snow,  the  flakes  were  of  glowing  coals  and  cinders. 
A  whilrwind  of  flame  arid  heat  had  evidently  swept  from  the  burning 
district  a  cloud  of  burning  particles,  which  had  burst  over  us  in  a 
cooler  stratum  of  air  and  myriads  of  "fire  flakes"  were  thus  let  loose 
to  fall  at  will  over  our  heads.  It  was  a  wonderful  sight,  at  once 
interesting  and  awe-inspiring,  but  not  at  all  dangerous  because  ac- 
companied by  no  wind.  I  was  curious  enough  to  note  the  time  of 
the  passing  of  the  phenomenon;  by  my  watch  it  was  5 :07  p.  m. 

After  this  a  decided  improvement  in  the  atmospheric  conditi  ms  be- 
came perceptible,  the  air  grew  cooler,  we  could  breathe  freer,  and 
we  dared  to  take  the  cloths  from  our  heads  and  look  about.  The 
chair  car  porter,  Blair,  came  up  to  us  about  this  time  and  through 
him  I  learned  how  the  other  passengers  had  been  saved. 

The  story  that  Conductor  Sullivan  had  thrown  a  child  out  of  the 
window  is  not  true,  but  a  little  girl  had  been  placed  in  his  charge, 
and  anxiety  as  to  her  fate  may  have  affected  his  mind  in  connection 
with  the  other  terrible  experiences  he  had  gone  through.  The  girl 
was  saved  with  the  others  in  the  marsh. 

STATEMENT  OF  WM.  H.  BLADES,  OF  CRANE,  ORDWAY  & 
CO.,  OF  DULUTH. 

We  left  the  Duluth  Union  Depot  by  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  Lim- 
ited September  ist,  anticipating  no  special  danger,  though  the  at- 
mosphere was  dense  with  smoke  as  it  had  been  for  days,  owing  to 
the  forest  fires  prevailing  and  an  unusually  dry  season.  The  smoke 
kept  increasing  in  density  as  we  proceeded,  and  at  Miller,  six*:y-six 
miles  from  Duluth,  got  to  be  very  bad.  From  Miller  to  Hinckley 
it  thickened  into  a  sort  of  unnatural  twilight,  with  cinders  falling 
through  it  like  black  snow,  and  the  air  became  overheated  as  if  blasts 
from  a  hot  oven  were  blowing  spasmodically.  The  train  was  flagged 
at  a  little  bridge  about  a  mile  and  a  half  this  side  (north)  of  Hinckley, 
and  there  being  an  open  space,  an  old  clearing  or  meadow,  we  could 
see  clearer  and  breathe  easier  here. 

A  crowd  of  men,  women  and  children  were  running  across  this 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  143 

open  space  towards  the  train,  and  we  gathered  from  them  that  Hinckley 
was  burning-  up,  and  that  fearful  fires  were  sweeping  through  the  for- 
ests from  every  direction.  There  were  between  two  and  three  hun- 
dred of  these  people,  and  all  were  taken  aboard.  Things  had  com- 
menced to  look  very  serious  by  this  time  and  I  had  some  thoughts  of 
trying  the  little  body  of  water  under  the  bridge  for  shelter,  for  I  had 
noticed  that  the  cars  were  even  then  blazing  underneath  in  spots, 
where,  being  bespattered  with  axel  grease,  the  woodwork  was  made 
more  inflammable;  but  when  Conductor  Sullivan  sang  out  "All 
aboard,"  I  instinctively  swung  myself  back  on  the  train.  The  train, 
besides  engine  and  tender,  was  composed  of  a  baggage,  express  and 
mail,  a  smoker,  a  day  coach  and  two  chair  cars,  which  were  now  well 
filled  with  the  people  from  Hinckley,  and  \ve  had  brought  no  pas- 
sengers from  Duluth.  One  great  source  of  danger,  I  have  since 
learned,  was  that  the  supply  of  water  for  the  engine  was  getting  very 
low  and  so  overheated  that  it  is  doubtful  if  the  train  could  have  been 
moved  in  many  minutes  more.  This  accounts  for  the  painfully  slow 
time  that  was  made  on  the  backward  move  to  Skunk  lake,  which 
has  been  estimated  as  much  as  twenty  minutes. 

The  train  must  have  burst  into  flames  very  soon  after  we  started 
and  we  had  not  run  far  before  things  became  extremely  wild,  as 
live  fire  enveloped  the  cars  and  broke  the  glass  in  the  windows,  and 
transoms  commenced  to  crack  and  burst,  thus  letting  tongues  of 
flame  through  the  splintered  openings.  At  this  sight,  which  was 
in  itself  extremely  terrible,  many  of  the  women  would  scream  and 
cower  away  from  it  as  much  as  possible.  The  windows  on  the  west 
side  were  the  first  to  break,  those  on  the  east  remaining  longer,  so 
that  all  the  passengers  crowded  to  the  east  side  as  much  as  possible 
in  an  instinctive  effort  to  keep  farther  from  the  flames.  That  the  lady 
passengers  particularly  should  recoil  with  horror  at  a  sight  so  awful 
is  not  to  be  wondered  at;  indeed  it  only  seems  strange  that  such  an 
experience  could  be  gone  through  with  by  them  at  all,  and  still  re- 
tain their  normal  faculties  of  mind.  As  I  now  see  those  events, 
the  conclusion  is  forced  upon  me  that  a  more  cool  and  composed 
set  of  passengers  than  were  on  this  train,  it  would  be  impossible  to 
conceive  of  under  any  circumstances,  for  except  when  the  senses 
were  startled  by  some  new  phase  of  the  horror,  there  was  no  unusual 
commotion.  I  do  not  think  the  large  majority  realized  the  full  hor- 
ror of  the  situation  until  later.  As  for  myself,  I  seemed  to  appre- 
ciate fully  the  fearfulness  of  the  danger  and  the  hopelessness  of  the 


144 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  145 

situation,  for  I  had  given  up  the  idea  of  ever  getting  out  alive,  and 
yet  I  must  have  been  in  a  sort  of  daze,  for  the  nearness  of  an  ex- 
tremely shocking  death  did  not  disturb  me  as  much  as  it  might  have 
done,  and  I  presume  it  was  very  much  the  same  with  those  arounl 
me. 

During  most  of  the  run  I  was  in  the  lavatory  of  the  St.  Paul  chair 
car,  with  half  a  dozen  other  gentlemen.  We  were  wetting  towels  and 
cloths  and  passing  them  in  to  the  passengers  in  the  main  body  of  the 
car.  The  nearest  approach  to  a  panic  I  came  in  contact  with  during 
the  whole  ride  was  when  a  stranger  put  the  question  to  me,  ''What 
chances  do  you  think  we  have  of  getting  out  of  this?"  and  I  replied, 
"About  one  in  twenty  thousand!"  at  which  he  made  a  dive  for  the 
platform,  and  would  have  left  the  train  had  I  not  pulled  him  back 
into  the  car  and  held  the  door  on  him. 

As  for  my  recollection  of  the  run  back  to  Skunk  lake,  as  a  whole 
I  can  only  say  that  it  seemed  a  long  one,  during  which,  extraordinary 
things  were  happening  and  coming  upon  each  other  in  quick  succes- 
sion and  that  each  thing  than  happened  seemed  more  terrible  than 
the  preceding  one,  and  that  each  seemed  designed  more  surely  than 
the  last  to  give  assurance  of  a  speedy  and  inevitable  destruction. 
The  smoke  and  cinders,  the  occasional  glimpses  of  great  whirls  of 
flame  in  masses  of  forest,  the  stifling  heat,  the  bursting  of  glass  and 
the  tongues  of  flames  lapping  hungrily  through  the  empty  car  win- 
dows, the  bursting  out  of  flames  in  new  places,  the  stifled  shrieks 
and  the  recoils  of  terror  by  the  women,  the  frozen  stare  of  horror 
among  the  men,  I  certainly  saw  and  heard  and  understood  all,  and 
yet,  as  I  have  mentioned  before,  with  something  less  than  a  full 
realizing  sense.  When  the  train  stopped  and  some  said  "This  is  the 
place!"  it  seemed  natural  enough  that  we  should  stop  here,  but  it 
was  not  coupled  with  exquisite  sense  of  relief,  which  is  supposed  to  be 
experienced  by  those  who  have  escaped  a  very  great  danger. 

The  male  passengers  bestirred  themselves  to  take  out  the  women 
and  children  from  the  burning  coaches.  A  barbed  wire  fence  was 
kicked  off  the  staples  and  everybody  ran  for,  or  were  helped  intor 
the  deepest  part  of  the  miry,  muddy  water,  which  was  at  most  only 
eighteen  inches  deep.  Here  I  sat  down  with  the  rest  so  that  the 
mire  and  water  came  up  nearly  to  the  armpits,  and  when  sheets  of 
flame  swept  over  us,  as  they  seemed  to  do  periodically,  we  would 
crouch  down  as  much  as  possible,  keeping  our  heads  entirely  cov- 
ered with  wet  clothing. 


146  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

Of  the  many  mysteries  connected  with  the  extraordinary  adven- 
ture, the  most  inexplicable  is  ihat  the  sheets  of  flame,  which  had  be- 
fore and  did  afterwards  sweep  ever  us,  should  at  this  particular  junc- 
ture have  ceased  to  play  on  this  spot  long  enough  to  allow,  practi- 
cally, all  the  passengers  to  reach  the  water.  Had  one  of  those  great 
whirls  of  fire  caught  us  here  that  afterwards  passed  over  us,  we  must 
have  perished,  everyone.  As  it  was,  we  were,  as  one  might  say, 
let  in  between  two  great  heats. 

How  long  we  were  in  the  marsh  is  uncertain;  several  successive 
sheets  of  flame  passed  over  us  and  when  they  ceased  or  became 
fewer  and  less  terrible,  the  people  gradually  crawled  up  to  higher 
ground.  Considerable  suffering  from  cold  was  then  experienced 
by  almost  everyone,  for  after  the  heat  of  the  flames  had  passed  over, 
the  air  became  quite  cool,  and  being  entirely  wet  through,  this  air 
had  all  the  effect  of  a  raw  winter  wind.  That  reaction  from  extreme 
heat  to  severe  cold  should  have  been  experienced  so  suddenly,  may 
be  singular,  but  there  is  no  mistake  about  the  recollection  of  this 
fact. 

Conductor  Sullivan  was  in  his  right  mind,  or  appeared  to  be,  as 
long  as  I  saw  him.  I  knew  nothing  of  the  time  of  the  incident  with 
the  child.  This  is  likely  to  have  happened,  however,  and  that  the 
child  should  have  been  saved  is  not  strange,  for  there  were  plenty 
outside  to  catch  it  in  their  arms  or  pick  it  up  as  the  case  might  be. 
The  last  glimpse  I  had  of  him  he  was  with  a  pail  in  hand  trying  to 
put  out  the  fire  on  the  rear  car  which  was  burnt  the  least.  This 
was  when  the  people  were  crawling  toward  the  marsh,  but  the  flames 
and  smoke  soon  shut  everything  from  sight.  I  heard  of  him  after- 
wards through  R.  S.  Parrel!,  a  man  in  my  employ,  and  who  had 
also  been  a  passenger.  Farrell  saved  himself  by  running  up  the 
track,  and  arrived  at  Miller  Station  at  the  same  time  that  Sullivan 
did.  He  saw  no  indication  of  derangement  of  mind  in  him,  but 
on  the  contrary,  says  he  handed  a  dispatch  to  the  operator. 

The  railroad  embankment  cuts  the  marsh  called  Skunk  lake  in 
two  at  that  point.  The  smaller  portion  on  the  west  side  being 
the  one  wherein  our  people  were  saved,  the  longer  sheet  of  water 
on  the  other  side,  strange  to  say,  seems  to  have  experienced  a  much 
heavier  visitation  from  the  flames  than  we  did.  When  Dr.  Codding 
and  I  walked  out  to  examine  it  the  next  morning,  \ve  found  the  wet, 
spongy  soil  converted  into  a  thick  layer  of  ashes,  as  far  as  we  could 
see.  Afterwards  the  remains  of  three  people  were  found,  who  had 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  147 

evidently  crawled  into  it  for  protection  and  perished.  There  is  no 
doubt  in  my  mind  that  if  our  people  had  been  directed  into  the  larger 
body  of  water  on  the  east  side  of  the  track,  that  many,  if  not  all  of 
us,  must  have  shared  the  same  fate,  on  the  other  hand  every  one, 
as  far  as  I  know,  that  sought  shelter,  so  to  speak,  in  the  smaller 
pool  came  out  alive  and  practically  unharmed. 

GLADSTONE,  MINN.,  May  7,  1895. 
REV.  WILLIAM  WILKINSON,  DEAR  SIR: 

In  reply  to  yours  of  recent  date  regarding  my  experience  in  for- 
est fires  September  first,  1894,  as  conductor  of  St.  Paul  and  Duluth 
Limited  train  No.  4,  I  will  try  to  give  you  as  near  as  possible  my 
own,  as  well  as  the  experience  of  some  of  my  passengers. 

Train  No.  4,  known  as  the  fast  limited,  left  Duluth  at  1 155  p.  m., 
consisting  of  a  baggage  car,  smoking  car,  two  coaches  and  two 
chair  cars,  pulled  by  Engineer  Root  and  Fireman  John  McGowan; 
Baggageman  Morris,  Brakeman  Manahan  and  Porter  Blair.  Leav- 
ing Duluth  and  arriving  at  Carlton,  there  was  nothing  to  indicate 
the  fearful  disaster  that  was  our  fate  to  encounter  later  on. 

Arriving  at  Barnum  on  time,  thirty-nine  miles  from  Duluth,  I 
noticed  it  was  growing  dark  and  very  smoky,  but  paid  little  atten- 
tion to  it,  as  we  had  become  accustomed  to  this  condition  of  affairs 
during  the  previous  two  months.  We  still  proceeded  on  schedule 
time,  nothing  more  to  indicate  any  danger  ahead  until  arriving  about 
three-fourths  of  a  mile  north  of  Hinckley  station  where  we  came  to 
a  stop.  I  opened  the  baggage  car  door  and  jumped  to  the  ground 
to  ascertain  what  the  trouble  was. 

Upon  looking  ahead  I  discovered  the  fire  coming  in  the  shape 
of  a  cyclone.  I  said  to  my  engineer,  "]im,  we  cannot  stay  here 
long;  we  will  have  to  go  back  to  a  place  of  safety."  Looking  around 
we  could  see  people  coming  from  all  directions  making  for  the 
train,  and  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge  T  had  received  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  one  hundred  and  fifty  or  one  hundred  and  sixtv  men, 
women  and  children.  Thinking  all  safely  on  board  the  train,  I 
was  about  to  signal  to  start  back,  when  screams  to  my  right  at- 
tracted my  attention.  It  proved  to  be  a  mother  and  her  three  lit- 
tle children  running  for  their  lives,  and  the  flames  grasping  like  a 
demon  behind  them.  Those  were  the  last  people  that  I  loaded 
on  my  train.  I  then  sprang  into  the  first  class  coach  and  gave 
the  engineer  the  bell  twice,  the  third  pull  felt  to  me  as  though  the 
bell  cord  were  burned  off.  I  ran  into  the  smoking  car  and  gave  the 


148 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  14g 

bell  cord  one  more  pull  and  we  started  back.  Our  train  at  that 
time  was  all  on  fire,  with  between  three  and  four  hundred  lives  be- 
neath its  roofs.  We  had  only  gone  a  quarter  of  a  mile  when  a 
mighty  wave  of  flame  struck  us  at  a  terrific  rate  of  speed,  I  should 
think  between  sixty  and  seventy  miles  an  hour.  It  took  every 
window  out  of  the  west  side  of  the  train.  While  standing  in  the 
smoking  car,  a  gentleman  whom  I  did  not  know,  raised  his  foot 
and  put  it  through  the  window  on  the  east  side  of  the  train;  he 
had  no  sooner  withdrawn  his  foot  than  one  of  the  refugees,  who 
had  sought  the  train  for  safety,  jumped  through  the  window  into- 
the  flame  outside,  before  I  could  make  any  attempt  to  stop  him. 
He  had  no  sooner  gone  through  the  window  when  another  man 
started  to  do  likewise,  and  whom  I  caught  and  pulled  back  on  his 
feet  almost  severing  one  of  his  hands  from  his  wrist  upon  the  broken 
window  glass.  Turning  to  me  the  poor  fellow  said,  "Can  you  do 
anything  for  my  hand?"  to  which  I  replied  I  could  not,  having  no 
means  at  hand  to  relieve  his  suffering. 

I  then  left  the  smoker  and  went  to  the  first  class  coach,  which  was 
crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity  with  men,  women  and  children 
screaming  at  the  top  of  their  voices  and  which  I  think  was  the 
hardest  sight  I  have  ever  seen.  With  all  my  might  I  shouted  to 
the  people  to  keep  quiet,  as  everything  was  going  to  be  all  right, 
and  as  soon  as  I  succeeded  in  making  myself  understood  it  seemed 
to  restore  them  to  splendid  order.  Arriving  in  the  north  end  of 
the  car,  I  beheld  a  six-weeks-old  baby  lying  upon  the  seat  protected 
by  its  loving  mother.  The  lady  asked  me  if  we  were  going  to  get 
out  alive,  which  I  assured  her  we  were,  advising  her  to  keep  the 
smoke  away  from  the  baby  as  much  as  possible  and  everything 
would  be  all  right 

Passing  through  the  next  coach,  I  entered  the  chair  car  and 
came  in  contact  with  Mr.  C.  D.  O'Brien,  who  asked  me  how  we 
were  going  to  be.  Saying  to  him  that  things  would  be  all  right, 
I  hurried  through  the  chair  cars,  giving  the  same  assurance  of 
safety  that  I  had  in  other  parts  of  my  train. 

Standing  there  administering  to  the  wants  of  the  passengers,  was 
Porter  Blair  of  the  chair  car,  who  I  must  say  is  as  brave  a  man 
as  I  ever  saw.  On  our  backward  ride  from  Hinckley  to  Skunk 
lake  I  saw  one  of  the  pluckiest  women  I  ever  met.  She  stood  in- 
side the  door  of  the  chair  car  and  handed  me  saturated  towels  from 
the  vash  stand  in  the  car,  which  I  used  to  prevent  the  end  of  the 
car  from  burning. 


150  MINNESOTA  FOREST  F .  RES. 

On  my  arrival  at  Skunk  lake  I  jumped  from  the  train,  first  meet- 
ing- Fireman  McGowan  holding  an  empty  pail  in  his  hand,  which 
I  took  from  him  and  got  into  the  lake  and  filled  it  with  water,  then 
went  back  to  put  the  fire  out  on  the  platform  of  the  coaches  so  as 
to  get  the  passengers  off.  When  that  was  done  Porter  Blair  was 
still  at  his  post  helping  and  relieving  those  people  in  his  charge. 
When  the  train  was  relieved  of  its  load  of  human  freight,  I  con- 
templated making  the  awful  trip  to  the  next  station  called  Miller. 
When  I  thought  everything  else  was  secure  I  then  thought  of 
getting  some  report  to  my  superior  officers,  so  as  to  get  some 
assistance  for  those  suffering  people.  I  started  on  my  perilous  walk 
through  smoke  and  heat.  The  smoke  was  so  dense  that  I  could 
not  see  my  open  hand  before  me.  I  kept,  all  this  time,  between 
the  rails  of  the  track,  lest  I  should  wander  away  from  it  and  be 
burned.  I  had  to  lie  down  at  various  times  on  the  ground  in  order 
to  get  a  breath  of  air,  and  suffered  intense  pain  with  my  eyes. 

Arriving  at  Miller  Station,  I  went  to  the  operator,  Mr.  Thomp- 
son, who  sat  bravely  at  his  post  of  duty,  operating  his  key.  I  asked 
him  then  where  Xo.  12  was — the  local  freight  that  was  following 
me,  of  which  I  feared  so  much  on  our  backward  ride — and  he  said 
they  were  at  Willow  river  and  ready  to  come  this  way.  I  then 
asked  him  if  he  could  get  Rutledge  and  find  out  how  the  bridges 
were  at  this  side,  and  see  that  we  were  not  cut  off.  A  portion  of 
a  message  I  delivered  to  the  operator,  which  he  sent  to  Duluth 
for  help.  We  then  had  to  leave  again  as  the  fire  was  coming  up 
to  us  and  had  only  left  there  about  three  or  four  minutes  when 
the  station  was  consumed.  Continuing  on  my  walk  four  miles 
further  to  Finlayson  Station,  I  heard  the  noise  of  an  aproaching 
train;  it  was  our  No.  12,  pulled  by  Engineer  Kelly  and  Conductor 
Roper.  I  shouted  and  said,  "John,  ig  that  you?"  and  he  came  to 
my  assistance  and  I  asked  him  for  God's  sake  to  give  me  some 
water,  which  he  did.  I  asked  him  at  the  same  time  where  he  was 
going  and  he  replied,  "I  am  going  to  your  train."  I  said,  "I  am 
afraid  you  cannot  do  it."  At  this  time  I  went  into  the  station  and 
remained  there  a  little  while  until  I  got  rested  up.  The  heat  was 
again  getting  intense  and  I  could  hear  the  fire  coming.  I  then 
started  out  again  and  walked  two  miles  further,  which  made  my  walk 
in  all  about  ten  miles.  I  got  to  a  gravel  pit  and  stopped  and  said 
to  my  companions,  "I  am  afraid  we  are  cut  off,  as  I  see  fire  ahead." 
We  then  made  up  our  minds  to  take  chances  and  remain  where  we 
were  until  the  return  of  Conductor  Roper's  train.  We  remained 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  151 

there  about  one  hour,  thinking-  it  to  be  a  year,  when  I  heard  the 
whistle  of  the  returning  train,  which  was  very  encouraging  to  us 
at  that  time.  They  picked  us  up  and  the  next  stop  was  made  at 
Rutledge  Station.  I  went  into  the  station  and  inquired  of  the 
operator,  Kallis,  on  duty,  what  he  had  heard  from  my  train,  if  any- 
thing, and  he  said  "Nothing;  but  they  are  sending-  a  relief  train 
from  Duluth."  I  then  was  taken  back  to  the  caboose,  when  I  com- 
pletely broke  down  from  exhaustion. 

The  next  stop  made  was  at  Willow  River.  I  was  taken  from  the 
caboose  and  was  taken  h  charge  by  the  citizens  of  that  little  town. 
They  did  everything  that  could  be  done  to  relieve  our  suffering 
until  the  arrival  of  the  relief  train  from  Duluth.  I  was  put  aboard 
that  train  and  taken  to  Duluth.  One  thing  more  I  would  like  to 
add  in  connection  with  this  experience,  that  one  lady  who  was  aboard 
my  train  at  the  time  of  the  disaster,  Mrs.  Saunders,  had  with  her 
seven  children  whom  she  managed  to  protect  and  care  for  during 
this  awful  time.  I  can  assure  you  of  the  fidelity  of  the  entire  train 
crew  during  this  terrible  ordeal,  and  I  hope  the  public  were  satisfied 
with  the  manner  in  which  they  conducted  themselves.  I  certainly 
hope  we  will  never  be  called  upon  to  render  the  same  services,  un- 
der such  circumstances,  for  even'  moment  to  us  all  was  a  most 
trying  one.  All  that  we  could  see,  and  as  it  looked  to  me,  the 
heavens  and  earth  were  like  a  sheet  of  flame. 

I  will  say  in  conclusion  that  any  one  man  deserves  no  more  credit 

than  another,  as  none  of  us  did  any  more  than  our  duty,  which 

\ve  owe  to  our  employers  and  to  the  public  in  our  charge.      This  is 

mv  experience  during  the  awful  forest  fire  of  September  first,  1894. 

Yours  respectfully,        THOS.  SULLIVAN. 

GEORGE  C.  DUNLAP,  OF  ST.  PAUL,  PASSENGER  ON  THE 
DULUTH  LIMITED. 

At  1:55  on  the  afternoon  of  September  first,  1894,  we  left  Du- 
luth on  the  south  bound  "limited"  for  St.  Paul.  The  day  was  dry 
and  sultry.  A  strong  wind  was  driving  the  smoke  of  forest  fires 
across  the  skies,  so  that  after  a  time  the  sun  became  totally  con- 
cealed as  behind  a  dark  mantle. 

As  we  approached  the  town  of  Carlton  we  noticed  that  the  trees 
and  stumps  were  burning  on  each  side  of  the  track,  but  as  yet 
we  had  little  apprehension  of  danger.  After  we  passed  that  station, 
however,  the  signs  of  disaster  became  apparent.  The  heat  grew 
more  intense,  the  black  smoke  thickened,  until  at  three  o'clock 


152 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOEEST  FIRES.  153 

day  had  changed  to  night  and  it  was  necessary  to  light  lamps  and 
headlight.  Breathing  became  more  difficult  every  moment  and 
the  danger  of  suffocating  seemed  imminent.  On  we  went,  run- 
ning at  lightning  speed,  hoping  to  pierce  the  almost  impenetrable 
gloom.  As  town  after  town  was  passed  in  quick  succession,  the 
anxious  inhabitants  were  seen  collected  in  small  groups,  and  evi- 
dently much  alarmed.  Soon  a  bright  red  illuminated  the  heavens. 
The  black  forms  of  trees  became  blazing  firebrands.  Then  fol- 
lowed the  crash  of  falling  timber  and  the  accompanying  shower  of 
sparks. 

At  last  the  light  of  day  again  appeared  and  the  passengers  gasped 
a  sigh  of  relief.  It  was  said  that  the  fires  were  local,  and  that 
we  should  soon  be  out  of  all  danger. 

Suddenly  the  train  came  to  a  stop  about  a  mile  from  Hinckley 
bridge.  Men,  women  and  children  half  naked,  partly  burned,  and 
covered  with  ashes  and  dirt,  came  groaning  and  crying  on  board. 
Still  others  made  all  haste  to  reach  our  train.  In  all  there  were 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  refugees.  They  told  the  trainmen  that 
Hinckley  and  the  bridges  were  burned  and  that  a  great  fire  was 
approaching  us.  The  engineer,  finding  that  the  heat  was  becoming 
unbearable  and  that  his  passengers  were  in  the  greatest  danger, 
decided  to  back  up  at  full  speed  to  a  pond  known  as  Skunk  lake. 
When  this  was  made  known,  many  a  poor,  homeless  settler  begged 
piteously  for  a  little  time  to  go  back  and  get  his  dear  wife  and 
children. 

Almost  instantly  a  great  hurricane  of  fire  bore  down  and  struck 
the  train.  Blazing  embers  of  all  shapes  and  sizes  were  hurled  upon 
the  cars.  The  burning  forest  around  was  fanned  by  the  gale,  and 
the  heat  and  smoke  became  well  night  unbearable.  It  seemed 
as  though  a  huge  mountain  of  flame  was  rolling  upon  us.  The 
baggage  car  took  fire  and  thus  our  destruction  seemed  to  be  made 
certain.  Then  began  the  immortal  race  for  Skunk  lake,  a  race  last- 
ing only  seven  minutes,  although  it  seemed  like  seven  hours.  The 
window  glass  melted,  curtains  vanished  and  the  fire  swept  through 
the  cars  at  will.  The  passengers  stood  huddled  together  in  the 
aisles,  some  praying,  some  crying,  others  dazed.  To  breathe  was 
torture.  The  heroic  porter,  John  Blair,  was  constantly  trying  to 
alleviate  the  suffering  of  the  women  and  children,  who,  almost 
choking,  gasped  for  water.  Once  the  train  gave  a  sudden  lurch 
and  we  feared  that  the  cars  had  left  the  track  and  that  the  end  had 


154  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

But  we  were  still  permitted  to  rush  backward,  though  it  seemed 
strange  that  so  violent  a  wind  did  not  derail  the  train. 

At  last  we  arrived  at  Skunk  lake,  none  too  soon,  for  scarcely  had 
the  coaches  been  deserted  when  they  became  completely  enveloped 
in  flames  and  were  destroyed  in  a  few  minutes.  The  majority  of 
the  passengers  sought  safety  in  the  water,  while  many  wandered 
about,  they  knew  not  where.  A  few  of  us  were  unable  to  reach 
the  lake  on  account  of  the  blinding  smoke  and  intense  heat.  We 
ran  up  the  track  and  came  to  a  culvert;  into  this  large  wooden  box 
we  crawled,  foolishly  thinking  that  in  it  we  might  escape  the  scorch- 
ing wind.  In  a  short  time  we  were  driven  out,  but  returned  again 
and  again,  staying  long  enough  to  get  fresh  air.  At  last  we  were 
forced  to  leave  the  culvert  and  seek  safety  elsewhere.  After  roam- 
ing about  aimlessly,  we  sat  down  in  a  place  where  there  was  noth- 
ing inflammable.  There  we  remained  with  our  heads  covered  with 
coats,  while  the  storm  of  fire  brands,  cinders  and  ashes  swept  over 
us.  Thus  we  escaped  suffocation.  Our  eyes  filled  with  dust  and 
weakened  by  heat,  began  to  cause  us  intense  suffering. 

The  wind  was  now  shifted  from  the  west  and  all  further  danger 
was  averted.  Our  party,  consisting  of  Miss  Scarvy,  of  Merriam 
Park,  Mr.  Hayden,  of  West  Superior,  and  myself,  returned  to  the 
place  where  the  "limited"  had  stopped.  There,  in  place  of  the 
elegant  coaches,  were  found  the  bare  trucks  covered  by  a  mass  of 
iron  work  and  debris.  The  Skunk  lake  district  was  found  to  be 
a  large  clearing  with  a  small  lake,  and  low  meadow  lands  on  each 
side  of  the  track.  Under  the  circumstances,  such  a  place  was 
most  desirable.  We  met  a  Scandinavian,  who  kindly  brought  us 
to  a  place  where  were  two  dugouts,  each  holding  at  least  a  dozen 
persons,  in  one  of  which  he  had  saved  himself  and  family.  There 
we  spent  a  long,  dreary  night. 

We  were  kept  busy  passing  up  the  muddy  water  of  a  spring  to 
many  a  thirsty  survivor,  who,  as  he  drank,  would  falter  out  the 
story  of  his  miraculous  escape. 

On  the  following  morning  we  returned  to  the  wreck,  where  we 
found  that  relief  had  arrived  from  Duluth,  and  that  many  of  the 
passengers  had  left  at  an  early  hour  for  Hinckley,  where  they  were 
to  take  a  special  train  to  St.  Paul.  We  immediately  set  out  hoping 
catch  the  same  train,  but  when  we  reached  Hinckley  we  found  that 
we  were  two  hours  late.  We  were  then  obliged  to  wait  several 
hours  before  a  second  relief  train  arrived. 


XLJNNE8&IA  FOREST  FIRES.  155 

The  sights  beheld  that  morning  were  horrible  in  the  extreme. 
The  dead  bodies  of  men,  women,  children  and  cattle  lay  around  in 
heaps  on  every  side.  I  cannot  dwell  on  the  sickening  spectacle. 

We  went  to  the  Great  Northern  round  house,  the  only  building 
in  the  town,  and  patiently  waited,  suffering  all  the  time  the  most 
intense  pain  from  our  eyes.  At  last  the  welcome  whistle  of  a  train 
was  heard.  It  was  the  long  looked  for  relief.  A  large  number  of 
survivors,  who  had  come  in  from  all  parts,  were  taken  on  board, 
and  provisions  were  distributed  among  them.  On  arriving  at  Pine 
City  we  were  taken  to  the  hospital,  where  our  eyes  were  treated 
and  our  wants  ministered  to.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  keen  fore- 
sight and  high  sense  of  duty  of  the  noble  James  Root,  coupled 
with  the  indomitable  courage  and  the  valuable  assistance  of  his  no 
less  noble  helpmate,  John  McGowan,  Skunk  lake  would  never  have 
been  reached.  To  these  two  men — these  two  heroes — all  honor  and 
praise  are  due  for  having  saved  the  lives  of  so  many,  when  the 
chances  for  doing  so  were  so  very,  very  few.  We  cannot  pass  over 
the  name  of  our  brave  conductor,  Thomas  Sullivan,  he  who  re- 
vived the  drooping  hopes  of  his  passengers  by  his  encouraging  words 
and  who,  though  choked  and  blinded,  fought  the  flames  at  every 
point.  The  citizens  of  Pine  City,  and  especially  Mr.  J.  Y.  Breckin- 
ridge  and  James  Hurley,  deserve  the  highest  praise  for  the  very 
hearty  way  in  which  they  received  and  waited  upon  the  hundreds  of 
sufferers,  who  were  constantly  pouring  in. 

JUDGE  SEAGRAVE  SMITH  DESCRIBES  THE  FIRE. 

MINNEAPOLIS,  MINN.,  Feb.  9,  1895. 
REV.  WILLIAM  WILKINSON, 

Dear  Sir:     Yours  of  the  7th  inst.  is  at  hand  and  contents  noted. 

In  compliance  with  your  request  please  find  hastily  and  briefly  writ- 
ten some  of  the  things  observed  on  that  terrible  day.  You  can 
use  so  much  of  it  as  you  see  fit,  if  you  think  it  worthy  of  using. 
Hope  you  can  read  it.  Yours  Respectfully, 

SEAGRAVE  SMITH. 

Sept.  ist,  1894. — Train  left  Duluth  1:30  p.  m.  for  Minneapolis. 
About  twenty  miles  this  side  of  West  Superior  fires  were  seen  on 
each  side  of  the  train,  mostly  off  at  a  distance,  but  occasionally  com- 
ing near  to  the  railway  track.  There  was  but  little  wind  and  the 
fires  were  burning  slowly  and  quietly.  The  sky  was  being  obscured 
by  smoke,  as  we  canie  along  it  became  more  dense.  After  we 
passed  the  29th  mile  post  it  became  so  dark  that  when  we  reached 
the  next  one  I  was  unable  to  see  it  or  any  other  object  outside  dis- 


156 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIBES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  157 

tinctly.  The  cars  were  soon  lighted  and  the  darkness  increased  until 
it  was  as  dark  as  midnight  in  a  cloudy  night.  This  condition  con- 
tinued until  we  arrived  within  a  few  miles  of  Hinckley.  During  this 
time  silence  reigned  and  anxiety  was  depicted  on  the  countenances 
of  the  passengers.  As  we  approached  Hinkley  the  cloud  of  darkness 
lifted.  It  lighted  up  so  we  could  see  the  sun.  The  countenances  of 
the  passengers  changed  and  many  exclaimed,  "We  are  out  of  dan- 
ger." During  our  ride  through  the  dense  smoke  and  darkness  we 
could  see  fires  blazing  on  either  side  of  the  road,  sometimes  quite 
a  distance  off,  at  others  near  the  track. 

At  one  place  near  a  wood  station  the  ties  on  a  side  track  were 
burning  quite  briskly  near  the  main  track.  When  we  arrived  at 
Hinkley  the  train  stopped  at  the  station  a  minute  or  two  and  started 
on  again.  It  had  not  gone  but  a  short  distance  when  it  stopped 
again.  I  went  out  of  the  car  to  learn  the  cause  of  the  stopping. 

Looking  ahead  of  us  I  saw  the  round  house  and  a  number  oi 
freight  cars  on  fire.  It  appeared  to  be  an  extremely  hot  fire.  As 
I  was  looking  at  it,  in  an  instant,  a  fierce  wind  blew  from  it  a  volume 
of  hot  dust  and  sand.  It  came  with  such  force  and  was  so  hot  it 
burned  our  faces.  The  conductor  at  once  ordered  the  train  back 
to  the  station.  Before  we  had  stopped  at  the  station  the  people 
from  the  village,  men,  women  and  children,  came  running  toward 
the  train  with  their  trunks  and  bundles.  Others  were  running  with 
their  effects  and  locating  themselves  in  a  large  and  deep  gravel  pit 
on  the  east  side  of  the  station,  the  bottom  of  which  was. nearly  all 
covered  with  shallow  water.  When  the  train  stopped  at  the  sta- 
tion there  was  a  short  consultation  between  the  conductor,  myself 
and  a  few  others  as  to  what  should  be  done.  It  was  decided  best 
to  stay  there  as  long  as  it  would  be  safe  and  prudent — get  on  al) 
the  people  we  could  in  that  time,  and  get  away  before  the  fire  should 
entirely  surround  us.  While  we  were  thus  waiting  I  watched  the 
progress  of  the  fire  and  the  doings  of  the  people  who  were  trying  to 
save  themselves  from  destruction.  Many  got  on  to  the  train;  others 
sought  for  safety  in  the  gravel  pit  referred  to — all  frightened.  It 
was  a  heart  rending  sight  to  behold — the  wind  was  blowing  a  fearfu) 
gale.  The  flames  of  fire  were  leaping  high  and  consuming  everv 
thing  it  came  in  contact  with  almost  instantaneously.  I  saw  on  the 
west  side  of  the  village  a  volume  of  flame  strike  a  small  house  and 
shed,  wipe  it  out  in  an  instant,  and  leap  from  there  over  a  number  of 
other  buildings  without  touching  them,  strike  a  saw  mill  beyond 


158  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

with  such  force  that  it  was  moved  bodily  from  its  foundations 
in  a  second,  and  went  floating  in  the  air  a  burning  mass ;  every  stick 
of  timber  in  it  seemed  to  be  on  fire.  On  turning  to  the  other  side, 
I  saw  that  the  fire  had  burned  around  the  gravel  pit  and  was  fast 
getting  in  front  of  us.  The  people  of  the  village,  during  this  time, 
were  running  from  every  direction,  and  getting  in  the  cars  or  into 
the  gravel  pit.  with  such  effects  as  they  could  carry  along  with  them. 
I  saw  one  man  who  carried  nothing  with  him  but  his  gun.  The 
conductor  in  the  meanwhile  had  attached  some  freight  (box)  cars 
to  our  train,  into  which  many  of  the  people  got.  The  train  staid 
there  as  long,  and  it  seemed  to  me  longer,  than  it  was  safe.  The 
fire  had  passed  around  the  gravel  pit  and  got  ahead  of  us.  It  was 
burning  furiously  as  far  as  could  be  seen  on  each  side 
of  the  track.  The  bridge  immediately  in  front  of  us  was  on  fire. 
The  train  started  through  this  double  wall  of  fire.  Just  as  it  started 
I  looked  to  the  rear  of  the  train,  saw  a  woman  leading  a  child,  with 
another  in  her  arms.  She  was  hurrying  to  get  on  the  train.  She 
was  only  a  few  feet  away  when  it  started.  She  was  left.  She  went 
toward  the  gravel  pit;  before  she  reached  there  I  saw  a  flame  of 
fire  strike  her  down  to  the  ground.  It  was  too  much  to  behold ;  my 
eyes  turned  away  from  the  awful  sight.  We  went  on  in  the  darkness 
through  the  walls  of  fire,  which  heated  the  windows  of  the  car  on 
the  side  where  I  was  so  it  was  painful  to  place  my  hand  on  them.  We 
were  passing  over  burning  bridges,  and  cut-outs  with  walls  of  fire  on 
each  side  for  a  long  distance — no  hope  of  escape  should  our  car 
get  on  fire.  Nothing  in  my  opinion  prevented  our  car  from  taking 
fire,  excepting  that  the  right  of  way  on  each  side  was  very  well 
cleared  of  combustible  matter  and  the  wind  was  blowing  directly  in 
the  line  of  the  track.  Had  it  been  blowing  across  the  track  noth- 
ing could  have  saved  us.  All  must  have  perished. 

The  refugees  apparently  felt  safe,  but  the  passengers  were  in 
breathless  suspense  for  hours,  knowing  not  what  moment  we  would 
drop  through  a  burning  culvert  or  bridge,  or  our  cars,  ignite  and 
burn.  No  pen  can  adequately  describe  the  awful  scene,  or  the  feel- 
ings of  those  who  witnessed  it.  It  was  an  event  never  to  be  for- 
gotten. 

After  many  stoppings  we  arrived  late  in  the  evening,  at  Duluth, 
covered  with  smoke  and  dirt,  our  nervous  systems  terribly  strained, 
but  our  lives  saved.  In  that  condition  we  felt  happy  that  we  had  es- 
caped with  our  lives  and  had  succeeded  in  saving  many  others. 


MINNESOTA  FOHEST  PIPES.  159 

ST.  PAUL  <fc  DULUTH  RAILROAD  COMPAXY. 

ST.  PAUL,  MINN.,  April  1,  1895. 
REV.  WILLIAM  WILKINSON,  DEAR  SIR: 

In  reply  to  your  letter  of  March  27th  I  beg  to  say  that  our  rec- 
ords show  that  all  of  the  passengers  on  our  train  No.  4  of  Septem- 
ber ist,  1894,  which  train  was  burnt  at  Skunk  lake,  were  saved 
excepting  O.  W.  Rowley,  whose  body  was  found  some  four  or  five 
hundred  feet  directly  west  of  the  track,  he  evidently  having  be- 
come dazed  and  confused  after  leaving  the  train,  wandered  away 
from  the  rest  of  the  passengers  and  was  burnt 

Mrs.  Miller  has  asked  me  to  thank  you  for  your  letter  and  to 
say  to  you  that  she  will  follow  my  example  so  far  as  the  photo- 
graph is  concerned.  This  is  her  own  wish,  and  has  in  no  way  been 
influenced  by  me.  Yours  truly, 

L.  J.  MILLER. 
Ass't    Gen'l    Manager. 

Mr.  Miller  and  his  wife  did  excellent  work  for  the  relief  of  the 
distressed  and  bereaved.  I  should  have  been  glad  to  place  their 
photographs  in  this  book,  but  they  declined  the  honor,  saying:  "We 
only  did  our  simple  duty." 

A  TRIBUTE  TO  JAMES  ROOT. 

The  citizens  of  Minneapolis,  while  seeking  to  alleviate  the  suf- 
ferings of  the  victims  of  the  terrible  holocaust  which  has  just  swept 
over  Northern  Minnesota,  pause  to  pay  a  fitting  tribute  to  James 
Root,  engineer  of  passenger  train  No.  4,  of  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth 
railroad,  which  left  Duluth  Saturday  afternoon  September  first,  1894. 

When  one  mile  north  of  Hinckley,  Engineer  Root,  having  driven 
his  train  through  miles  of  the  dense  smoke  and  increasing  heat  of 
the  forest  fires  of  that  day,  found  his  train  met  by  people  fleeing 
from  the  burning  town  and  the  flames  fast  closing  in  around  him 
and  his  charge. 

Taking  on  board  the  panic  stricken  people,  he  stood  at  his  post 
while,  through  a  very  sea  of  fire,  he  ran  his  train  back  five  miles 
to  Skunk  lake.  Here  two  hundred  of  his  scorched  and  suffocat- 
ing passengers  found  refuge  from  his  now  burning  train  in  the 
waters  of  the  lake,  while  he,  brave  man,  fell  burned  and  bleeding 
to  the  floor  of  his  cab  where  he  was  found  when  the  fire  had  spent 
its  fury. 

The   loftiest  impulse  which   animates  the   human   breast   is   that 


160 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  161 

which  prompts  one  to  self  sacrifice  for  the  salvation  of  others.  That 
impulse  controlled  James  Root  on  that  Saturday  afternoon  when, 
writhing  in  pain  and  facing  death,  not  thinking  of  himself  but  ofr 
the  lives  he  had  in  his  keeping,  he  stood  upon  the  pinnacle  of  hu- 
man glory. 

The  merit  of  his  heroic  deed  attaches  not  alone  to  him,  but  also 
to  the  craft  of  which  he  is  a  member.  The  lives  of  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  people  are  hourly  in  the  hands  of  locomotive  engineers, 
and  seldom  has  one  proven  false  to  his  trust,  or  failed  to  rise  to 
the  emergencies  which  confronted  him. 

Such  an  emergency  which  tried  the  mettle  of  manhood  confronted 
James  Root  on  this  occasion,  and  he  proved  himself  its  master. 
Two  hundred  human  beings  today  owe  to  him  their  lives.  On  that 
Saturday  morning  he  was  a  locomotive  engineer;  today  he  is  a  hero. 

W.  D.  Washburn,  Wayland  Hoyt,  Eugene  G.  Hay,  R.  J.  An- 
derson, special  committee. 

Chas.  A.  Pillsbury,  chairman;  H.  \V.  Brown,  vice  chairman;  P. 
B.  Winston,  treasurer;  J.  H.  Sullivan,  Citizens'  Relief  Association. 

W.  H.  EUSTIS,  Mayor. 

The  following  is  a  report  given  by  the  St.  Paul  Pioneer  Press,  of 
a  meeting  held  September  I3ui,  1894. 

THE  HEROIC  JOHX  BLAIR. 

The  colored  people  of  this  city  held  a  well  attended  meeting  at 
Market  Hall  last  night  in  recognition  of  the  heroism  of  Porter 
John  \V.  Blair,  whose  acts  of  bravery  contributed  so  much  to  the 
safety  and  comfort  of  the  passengers  on  the  train  that  was  burned 
at  Skunk  lake  on  the  night  of  the  terrible  forest  fire.  In  honor 
of  his  manly  conduct  the  colored  people  of  the  city  got  up  a  sub- 
scription and  purchased  a  handsome  gold  badge,  which  was  pre- 
sented to  him  at  the  meeting  last  night.  Quite  a  number  of  white 
people  w-ere  present  at  the  meeting,  among  them  being  several  of 
those  who  were  on  the  ill  fated  train. 

T.  H.  Lyles  presided,  and  on  calling  the  meeting  to  order  he 
said  that  while  Engineer  Root  and  the  other  members  of  the  train 
crew  had  been  eulogized  for  their  heroism,  but  little  or  nothing  had 
been  said  about  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Blair,  who  was  really  entitled 
to  just  as  much  credit  as  any  employe  on  the  train.  He  then  in- 
troduced Mr.  C.  D.  O'Brien,  who  was  one  of  the  passengers  on  the 
train. 


162  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

Mr.  O'Brien  said  that  John  Blair  had  done  his  duty,  and  this  was 
typical  of  his  race.  He  was  glad  the  colored  people  of  the  city  had 
seen  fit  to  give  some  testimonial  for  his  bravery.  The  man  who, 
facing  death,  does  his  duty  is  worthy  of  some  recognition.  He  said 
he  could  not  tell  the  horrors  of  that  night,  and  no  man  could.  The 
first  they  knew  of  any  real  danger  was  when  the  refugees  stopped 
the  train  near  Hinckley.  The  train  rushed  back  through  a  moun- 
tain of  flame.  John  W.  Blair  stood  at  his  post  in  the  burning  car 
passing  water  as  coolly  and  collectedly  as  if  he  were  on  a  summer 
excursion.  When  the  passengers  were  lying  on  the  ground  with 
their  faces  down,  Blair  stood  up  in  the  midst  of  the  flames  playing  a 
fire  extinguisher  on  the  women  and  children  whose  clothing  took 
fire. 

"For  three-quarters  of  an  hour  we  stood  in  a  flame  that  is  as  in- 
describable as  the  flames  of  hell,"  continued  the  speaker.  "Jonn 
Blair  might  have  left  the  party  and  sought  his.  own  safety,  but  he 
was  too  much  of  a  man  for  that.  He  stood  there,  a  willing  sacrifice, 
until  the  last  passenger  was  safe.  It  was  not  the  bravery  of  a 
trained  soldier  or  a  sailor,  but  that  of  a  poor  porter  of  a  chair  car, 
keeping  his  mind  to  follow  out  the  dictates  of  a  heart  as  pure  and 
noble  as  any  that  ever  beat  in  a  human  breast.  It  is  w-ell  to  honor 
such  men  and  teach  our  children  to  emulate  their  example.  I  am 
proud  to  be  alive  to  take  him  by  the  hand  and  thank  him  for  his 
humanity." 

With  this  Mr.  O'Brien  walked  across  to  where  Blair  was  sitting, 
and  taking  him  by  the  hand,  shook  it  with  a  vim  that  showed  a  deep 
feeling  for  the  colored  hero. 

G.  B.  Dougherty  of  Duluth,  and  Capt.  R.  L.  O'Gorman  and  Dr. 
Curry,  of  this  city,  all  of  whom  were  on  the  train,  corroborated 
the  statements  of  Mr.  O'Brien  regarding  Blair's  conduct  during  the 
terrible  ordeal  they  went  through  at  the  lake.  And  letters  giving  ex- 
pression to  the  same  sentiment  were  read  from  O.  C.  Hartman  and 
J.  E.  Lobdell,  both  of  Duluth,  and  Anna  L.  Munson,  of  this  city. 

Rev.  R.  C.  Quarles,  colored  pastor  of  the  Pilgrim  Baptist  church, 
was  then  introduced.  The  speaker  said  it  was  nothing  strange  when 
a  man  could  by  a  little  bravery  get  possession  of  a  large  amount  of 
wealth,  or  by  a  little  military  prowess  make  a  name  in  some  military 
achievement,  or  even  to  risk  his  life  for  the  protection  of  his  own 
family,  but  when  a  man  could  rise  above  the  thought  of  every- 
thing else,  even  his  own  life,  and  throw  himself  in  the  face  of  death 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  163 

for  the  sake  of  protecting  men  and  women  who  were  utter  strangers 
to  him,  then,  indeed,  there  was  something  grand  and  noble  about  it. 

"We  have  seen  in  blazing  headlines,"  he  added,  "the  praises  of 
brave  Engineer  Root  and  the  other  members  of  the  train  crew,  but 
I  have  looked  in  vain  for  the  name  of  John  W.  Blair  as  a  great 
hero  of  that  terrible  occasion.  I  am  glad,  John  W.  Blair,  that 
among  those  who  had  the  coolness  and  manhood  to  make  a  record 
on  that  terrible  night,  that  there  was  a  black  face  with  a  white 
heart." 

F.  L.  McGhee,  the  colored  attorney,  then  presented  Blair  with  a 
badge.  He  said  that  whenever  a  negro  was  called  upon  to  do  his 
duty  he  always  did  his  full  duty,  but  who  would  expect  him  to  go 
beyond  the  law  of  self  preservation  to  protect  his  fellow  men  and 
women. 

"We  can  not  fittingly  honor  him  as  it  is  fitting  he  should  be  hon- 
ored,'' he  went  on.  "But  when  called  to  appear  before  the  judg- 
ment seat,  John  W.  Blair,  then  and  only  then  will  you  receive  your 
full  reward.  I  have  here  a  little  token  of  recognition  of  your  hero- 
ism. It  is  from  the  people  of  that  race  from  which  you  spring. 
Wear  it.  It  is  but  a  poor  monument  to  the  memory  your  conduct 
merits  as  compared  with  the  honor  that  conduct  has  been  to  us." 

Mr.  Blair  modestly  replied  that  he  wished  he  had  command  of 
language  to  express  his  gratitude  for  the  many  flattering  tributes 
paid  him  on  the  occasion. 

"All  I  can  say  is  that  on  that  awful  night  I  did  what  I  thought  to 
be  my  duty,"  he  added.  "The  memories  of  this  night  and  the  kind- 
ness you  have  shown  me  shall  always  be  cherished  by  me  as  long 
as  I  live." 

The  badge  is  quite  large  and  is  of  a  beautiful  design,  the  face  be- 
ing engraved  with  the  picture  of  a  burning  train.  On  the  reverse 
side  is  an  inscription  stating  that  it  has  been  presented  to  Mr.  Blair 
in  testimony  of  his  heroism  on  the  occasion  referred  to. 

The  railway  authorities  gave  Mr.  Blair  a  fine  gold  watch  to  show 
their  appreciation  of  his  fearlessness  and  service  inscribed  as  follows : 

Presented  by  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  R.  R.  Co. 

TO  JOHN  WESLEY  BLAIR 

For  gallant  and  faithful  discharge  of  duty  on  Limited  train,  No,  4, 
In  Forest  Fires,  Sept,  1,  1895, 


164 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINXESWA  FOREST  FIRES.  165 

THE  COMPOSITE  TRAIN  ON  THE  EASTERN  RAILWAY. 

The  Lancashire  Puffing  Billy  made  by  George  Stevenson,  is 
known  to  all  railway  men,  because  it  was  the  first  locomotive.  The 
train  which  saved  its  passengers  and  476  who  were  in  imminent  peril 
of  death  by  fire  and  took  all  in  safety  to  Superior  and  Duluth  will 
live  in  the  literature  of  America  as  long  as  this  is  a  book  reading 
people.  The  conduct  of  all  in  charge  will  be  pointed  to  as  a  model 
for  all  who  have  the  care  of  life  and  property  in  the  railway  world. 

CONDUCTOR  H.  D.  POWERS. 

On  September  first,  1894,  I  left  Duluth  on  the  Eastern  Minne- 
sota passenger  train,  No.  20,  at  one  p.  m.  bound  for  St.  Paul.  On 
the  wray  to  Hinckley  we  didn't  see  any  more  fire  than  we  had  seen 
every  day  for  weeks  before,  but  over  part  of  the  distance,  the  smoke 
was  very  thick  and  it  was  so  dark  we  were  obliged  to  use  our  lan- 
terns and  the  engineer  lighted  his  headlight. 

As  we  approached  Hinckley  it  lightened  up.  Arriving  there  it 
was  as  light  as  usual,  except  that  the  sun  was  obscured;  there  was 
no  fire  in  the  town  then.  We  pulled  to  our  lower  yard  where  I 
learned  that  the  bridge  and  cars  at  the  lower  end  of  the  yard  were 
in  flames  and  the  fire  was  sweeping  into  the  town  with  great  ra- 
pidity. I  felt  sure  the  town  was  doomed,  and  at  once  began  prepar- 
ations to  get  my  tram  to  a  place  of  safety  and  to  take  as  many  peo- 
ple out  of  the  town  as  possible. 

The  way  freight  crew  from  West  Superior  (W.  D.  Campbell,  con- 
ductor) being  there,  I  made  arrangements  with  him  to  couple  into 
the  rear  of  my  train  with  his  engine,  also  to  get  three  empty  box 
cars  (these  being  all  we  could  procure).  We  then  coupled  every- 
thing together,  engine  105,  Barry,  engineer,  in  the  rear  backing  up, 
my  regular  engine  125,  Engineer  Best,  on  the  other  end  of  the  train 
handling  the  air  brake. 

Everything  being  in  readiness  to  make  a  run  for  it  when  the  time 
came.  We  stood  at  the  old  passenger  depot  and  loaded  the  people 
as  fast  as  possible,  and  stayed  there  until  the  buildings  less  than  one 
block  away  were  in  flames  and  the  fire  was  all  around  the  bridge 
over  the  Grindstone  river.  Fearing  it  would  burn  and  thus  cut 
off  our  only  retreat,  we  pulled  across  the  bridge  and  stopped.  We 
picked  up  forty  or  fifty  people  here. 

Meantime  the  fire  was  advancing  in  an  almost  solid  wall,  driven 
by  a  wind  that  was  simply  terrific.  The  Brennan  Lumber  Corn- 


IQQ  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

pany's  mill  and  yard  were  on  fire  and  the  heat  was  intense.  I 
could  see  the  fire  was  getting  into  the  woods  at  the  north,  through 
which  we  must  pass  to  get  out,  and  fearing  our  only  means  of  es- 
cape would  be  cut  off,  we  pulled  out.  As  it  proved,  we  started  none 
too  soon.  We  found  the  woods  a  sea  of  flame ;  the  very  air  seemed 
to  be  on  fire,  and  we  passed  over  three  small  bridges  that  had  be- 
gun to  burn.  We  got  out  of  the  fire  about  five  miles  north  of 
Hinckley  and  had  no  trouble  after  that. 

The  trainmen  with  me  were  my  own  crew,  consisting  of  O.  L. 
Beach,  brakeman,  M.  W.  Baker,  baggageman,  Wm.  Best,  engi- 
neer, and  Geo.  Ford,  fireman.  The  way  freight  crew,  consisting  of 
W.  D.  Campbell,  conductor,  Chas.  Freeman,  Peter  McLaughlin  and 
Geo.  Gilham,  brakemen,  Ed.  Barry,  engineer  and  Alex  Thistle,  fire- 
man. 

It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  every  man  did  his  full  duty.  That  we 
escaped  with  this  train  load  of  a  little  over  six  hundred  souls,  is 
due  it  seems  to  me,  not  to  human  heroism,  but  to  the  mercy  of  an 
all-wise  Providence. 

I  ask  not  for  their  lineage;  I  ask  not  for  their  name; 
True  manliness  is  in  their  heart,  they  royal  blood  may  claim. 

— R.  NICHOLS. 

The  following  graphic  description  is  given  by  Engineer  Best,  of 
the  Eastern  Minnesota  railway. 

"I  presume  the  public  will  be  surprised  to  hear  from  me  at  this 
late  day,  but  in  justice  to  myself  and  others,  I  certainly  think  it 
is  time  for  me  to  present  a  few  facts  concerning  the  happenings  to 
the  train  I  was  running,  on  the  day  of  the  Hinckley  fire,  Septem- 
ber first.  From  all  that  has  been  said  and  written  of  the  adven- 
turous trip  of  our  train  with  the  forest  fires,  on  that  day  of  horror, 
my  railroad  friends  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  must  think 
that  the  train  crew,  as  well  as  myself,  were  crazy.  For  instance,  I 
have  seen  descriptions  of  how  we  ran  over  burning  bridges  at  the 
rate  of  sixty  miles  an  hour,  without  giving  the  passengers  a  chance 
for  their  lives.  Why  not  say  that  I  had  engine  999  with  a  record 
of  one  hundred  and  twelve  miles  an  hour;  or  that  I  slipped  the 
wheels  out  from  under  engine  No.  125  and  substituted  the  Ferris 
Wheel,  anjl  all  that  I  had  to  do  was  to  touch  the  button  and  fly? 
Such  fancies  are  suggested  to  me  by  the  many  exaggerated  stories 
I  have  heard  and  read.  I  will  try  to  give  a  statement  of  our  trip 
from  Duluth  and  West  Superior  to  Hinckley,  and  return,  just  as  near 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  167 

right  as  possible,  and  will  try  to  explain  a  few  things 'in  my  simple 
way. 

"We  left  West  Superior  on  time,  with  train  Xo.  4,  Eastern  Min- 
esota  Limited,  consisting  of  engine  and  five  coaches,  for  St.  Paul. 
About  thirty  miles  out  the  smoke  became  so  dense  that  I  had  to 
light  the  headlight  and  cab  lamps.  At  the  next  station,  Kerrick, 
it  was  very  dark  and  for  about  thirty  miles  it  continued  so.  I 
was  still  making  the  regular  time  of  the  train  as  we  had  no  notice 
of  danger  from  along  the  line,  and  I  expected  the  atmosphere  would 
clear  up  when  we  ran  into  the  open  country  near  Hinckley.  The 
air  did  appear  to  clear  somewhat,  but  the  clouds  seemed  to  be  on 
fire,  and  great  sheets  of  flame  shot  athwart  the  heavens  with  elec- 
trical activity. 

"When  we  came  in  viewr  of  Hinckley  even-thing  was  quiet  ex- 
cept the  southern  extremity  of  the  town,  and  in  the  Great  Northern 
yards,  where  the  fire  had  made  its  appearance.  We  arrived  at 
Hinckley  on  time,  3:25  p.  m.,  and  after  doing  our  regular  switching, 
started  down  to  the  water  tank  which  is  situated  in  the  freight  yard. 
When  we  stopped  at  the  tank  we  saw  that  it  would  be  impossible 
to  get  through.  It  became  so  hot  at  that  point  that  my  fireman, 
George  Ford,  was  driven  three  times  from  the  spout.  I  called  to 
him  to  stick  until  we  had  secured  water  and  he  did,  for  his  grit  was 
good.  By  this  time  the  freight  station  and  the  cars  were  on  fire, 
and  we  had  to  back  away  from  the  tank.  The  wind  commenced 
to  blow  and  it  looked  as  though  the  town  must  go. 

"Passenger  Conductor  Powers  came  to  me  and  said,  'What  do 
you  think  of  putting  the  freight  engine  behind  us?'  The  freight 
was  standing  on  a  side  track  so  that  we  could  follow  it  if  necessary. 
We  all  thought  it  was  wisest  to  follow,  and  we  coupled  the  trains 
together.  We  understood  each  other  without  talking  much.  The 
wind  was  blowing  a  gale  by  this  time,  and  we  realized  that  Hinck- 
ley was  doomed. 

"The  people  now  commenced  running  from  the  burning  town  to 
the  train.  In  fact,  they  were  running  anywhere  and  everywhere,  for 
they  were  panic  stricken.  I  jumped  down  from  the  engine  to  talk 
with  Conductor  Powers  in  regard  to  the  length  of  our  stay,  as 
the  question  at  this  time  was,  how  much  longer  can  we  stay,  and 
get  safely  awray  with  the  train?  The  people  were  climbing  into 
the  coaches.  Engineer  Barry  whistled  off  and  the  train  started. 
I  ran  to  my  engine,  and,  setting  the  air  brakes,  stopped  it.  Conduc- 


1G8 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


REV.  FATHER  LAWLER,  M.  A. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIKES.  169 

tor  Campbell,  of  the  freight,  came  to  me  and  said  that  Engineer  Barry 
would  puil  the  coupling  pin  and  go.  I  said  that  I  guessed  not,  but 
a  second  later  was  told  the  same  story  by  a  brakeman.  But  it  was 
no  go,  at  any  rate.  We  were  loading  women  and  children,  and 
as  I  had  just  come  over  the  road,  I  was  determined  to  stand  on  my 
judgment.  But  again  and  again  did  the  freight  engine  whistle  off 
brakes,  and  try  to  start  the  train.  It  was  at  this  juncture  that  ex- 
cited men  pushed  women  and  children  from  the  coaches  in  their  mad 
haste  to  get  in  themselves. 

"Four  men  jumped  on  my  engine  and  said,  'Back  up!  back  up!  or 
we  will  all  be  burned  to  death.'  I  told  them  not  to  get  excited 
as  we  were  all  right  yet.  I  was  constantly  implored  to  go,  but 
there  was  still  time,  and  many  lives  to  be  saved  by  the  waiting. 
Many  of  our  passengers  wanted  to  help  in  the  general  cause  and 
they  worked  with  a  will,  assisting  those  who  required  help  and  in 
making  the  best  possible  use  of  the  space  in  the  coaches.  Conduc- 
tors Powers  and  Campbell  and  the  brakemen  worked  rapidly,  and 
to  the  best  apparent  possible  purpose.  The  heat  had  become  ter- 
rible, and  again  would  freight  engine  105  scream  out  two  whistles 
as  if  in  agony,  as  a  signal  to  start.  But  it  was  no  go  yet,  and  I  held 
the  train  in  the  iron  grasp  of  the  brakes.  Still  the  people  kept 
coming,  and  at  last  I  turned  to  my  fireman  and  said,  'Good  God, 
George,  will  I  sacrifice  the  train  at  last?'  The  heat  was  awful  and 
my  anxiety  was  intense,  for  between  the  tips  of  my  fingers  and 
the  air  brakes  lay  the  destinies  of  hundreds  of  people.  At  last  the 
mad  rush  was  reduced  to  a  few  stragglers.  I  looked  hastily  around 
and  saw  that  no  more  people  could  get  to  us.  The  wind  whirled 
through  the  streets  and  men  and  dumb  animals  could  be  seen 
falling  as  they  were  overcome  in  the  vain  endeavor  to  reach  a  place 
of  safety.  I  realized  that  I  had  stayed  the  limit.  I  stepped  back  into 
the  cab  and  released  the  air  brake,  and  we  started  from  ill-fated 
Hinckley.  Houses  were  burning  so  rapidly  that  one  could  see 
bedroom  sets  and  other  contents  of  the  rooms.  The  fire  would 
seem  to  burn  the  sides  right  off  the  buildings,  revealing  the  con- 
tents in  the  glare.  Buildings  seemed  to  melt  rather  than  burn  in 
the  fierce  glow. 

"We  backed  rapidly  away  from  this  scene  of  ruin  and  death,  and 
as  we  passed  the  road  running  north  of  the  station,  we  saw  people 
running  toward  the  train,  and  beckoning  us  to  stop.  But  it  was 


170  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

useless  to  think  of  it,  for  they  were  too  far  away  from  us,  and  I 
turned  my  head  that  I  might  not  see  them  in  their  distress. 

"The  next  point  we  reached  was  Grindstone  bridge.  Fire  was 
all  around  us,  but  we  passed  it  safely.  Here  was  a  small  company 
of  people  to  whom  life  was  a  matter  of  minutes.  The  dump  was 
high  and  the  fires  had  not  yet  reached  it.  At  Hinckley  it  had 
been  the  few  for  the  many,  but  here  it  was  the  many  for  the  few. 
We  took  the  refugees  on  board.  I  took  a  last  look  at  Hinckley. 
The  spectacle  was  awful,  but  impressed  me  as  grand  in  the  ex- 
treme. The  sights  and  sounds  of  that  day  will  always  occupy  a 
vivid  place  in  my  memory. 

''Just  before  starting  up,  after  taking  on  die  last  company  of 
refugees,  Conductor  Powers  came  to  me  and  said,  'Bill,  we  have 
got  them  all  I  guess,  let's  go.'  He  went  back  to  the  cars  and  then 
commenced  the  battle  royal.  Two  brakemen,  Wm.  Meach  and  a 
freightman  jumped  upon  the  tank  of  engine  105.  Both  engines 
were  backing.  Every  man  was  in  his  place  and  discipline  was  per- 
fect. The  brakemen  on  the  tank,  a  very  exposed  and  trying  posi- 
tion, signaled  to  Engineer  Barry  at  the  throttle  and  whistle.  Every 
man  was  doing  his  duty  and  doing  it  well.  The  wind  was  increas- 
ing in  violence  and  the  danger  grew  more  and  more  menacing. 
Trees  were  thrown  down,  and  terror  and  death  stalked  through  the 
forest  and  clearings.  Our  train  seemed  like  a  sentient  thing,  but 
how  insignificant  in  that  tempest  of  wind  and  flame. 

"The  brakemen  who  held  the  dangerous  post  of  outlook  doused 
themselves  with  water  from  the  manhole.  They  never  once  wav- 
ered and  their  grit  was  good.  As  we  were  approaching  each  bridge, 
I  would  slow  the  train  down  till  the  outlook  had  signaled  to  Barry 
that  all  was  weH.  Barry  would  whistle  off  brakes  and  I  would 
throw  the  throttle  wide  open  till  we  neared  the  next  bridge.  I 
had  made  up  my  mind  that  I  would  stop  at  the  top  of  the  hill.  Just 
beyond  this  summit  was  a  bridge  about  which  I  had  some  misgiv- 
ings. As  we  neared  this  structure,  which  is  forty  feet  in  height, 
I  began  slowing  the  speed  of  the  train  down.  I  was  anxiously 
watching  and  estimating  the  distance,  when  my  heart  was  chilled 
with  a  sudden  call  for  brakes.  In  a  moment  wre  were  standing  still, 
and  I  turned  to  my  fireman  and  said,  'George,  the  jig  is  up.  The 
train  is  lost  and  all  that  are  on  board  of  it.'  I  could  see  the  face 
of  my  faithful  fireman  when  I  uttered  these  words,  but  it  relaxed 
none  of  its  resolution.  Still  he  thought  as  I  did,  though  he  made 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.    '  171 

no  reply.  The  thought  came  to  me  then  that  I  would  meet  with 
measureless  censure  from  the  public  for  holding  the  train  at  Hinck- 
ley  in  the  interest  of  humanity  against  so  much  opposition,  and 
that  now  it  must  go.  I  experienced  at  that  moment  what  any  other 
engineer  would  have  under  like  circumstances.  The  fear  of  death 
never  entered  my  mind.  There  was  no  room  for  any  other  sen- 
sation than  remorse  and  self-condemnation  for  what  I  then  believed 
to  have  been  my  bad  judgment.  I  suffered  more  in  that  brief  period 
of  suspense  than  before  in  all  my  life.  But  my  ears  were  scon 
greeted  with  the  signal  to  go  ahead,  and  never  music  gladdened  the 
ear  like  that  shrill  whistle  from  105  signaling  to  go  ahead.  Away 
we  went,  and  soon  emerged  from  the  fire  into  dense  smoke,  but  the 
fire  was  following  fast  behind.  The  next  station  was  Sandstone, 
and  we  stopped  there  for  a  few  minutes.  Engineer  Barry  came 
to  me  and  said  that  the  conductors  had  decided  to  stop  over  there. 
I  jumped  from  the  cab  and  urged  them  to  go  right  through.  Xone 
of  the  people  at  Sandstone  thought  at  that  time  that  their  danger 
was  great,  but  we  all  know  now  how  that  in  less  than  an  hour  the 
town  was  destroyed  and  many  lives  lost. 

"Our  next  stop  was  at  the  now  famous  Kettle  River  bridge.  I 
had  noticed  a  local  fire  near  this  point  when  I  went  down  that  after- 
noon and  was  apprehensive.  Xo  trains  are  supposed  to  pass  this 
bridge  until  proper  signals  are  given  by  the  watchman,  and  on  this 
occasion  I  watched  for  them  with  unaccustomed  anxiety,  as  may  well 
be  imagined.  I  received  the  signal  to  go  ahead  and  v,e  rolled  onto 
the  structure  and  over  it  in  due  time.  The  south  end  of  the  bridge 
appeared  to  be  on  fire,  but  whether  it  was  or  not  will  never  be 
known,  for  the  watchman  had  given  his  last  signal,  and  his  charred 
remains  were  found  not  far  from  where  I  last  saw  him. 

"Fro-n  Kettle  river  we  vvent  along  nil  right,  making  the  ran  from 
Hinckley  to  Partridge,  fourteen  miles,  in  fifty  minutes. 

"The  next  station  was  Kerrlck.  I  was  down  oiling  the  engine 
at  that  place  when  four  of  the  passengers  came  out  of  the  parlor 
car,  which  was  right  behind  the  engine.  They  were  very  profuse 
in  their  expressions  of  praise  and  gratitude  for  all  of  us.  They  were 
safe,  and  knew  it,  and  theic  relief  was  great,  of  course.  We  arrived 
in  West  Superior  in  due  time  and  here  our  engines  were  put  off 
and  others  substituted  to  convey  the  train  to  Duluth.  It  was  im- 
possible for  either  Barry  or  myself  to  see  after  we  reached  the 
union  depot.  I  went  home  and  to  bed  immediately,  after  bandag- 


172 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  173 

ing  my  eyes,  to  allay  the  inflammation  caused  by  the  heat  and  smoke. 
It  was  4  :co  a.  m.  before  the  pain  in  my  eyes  would  permit  me  to  fall 
asleep. 

"A  great  many  people,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  have  carped  about  the 
conduct  of  the  trainmen,  while  others  are  loud  in  their  praise.  I, 
for  one,  feel  a  good  deal  like  Actor  Frank  Chanfrau,  whose  motto 
in  life — and  it  was  used  for  his  epitaph — was:  'I've  did  the  best 
I  could  and  J  ain't  got  nothing  to  take  back.' 

"West  Superior,  December  Twenty-second,  1894. 

"WILLIAM  BEST." 

FIREMAN  GEORGE  FORD. 

We  left  "\Yest  Superior  at  one  p.  m.  on  time  on  that  eventful  day, 
September  tirst,  1894,  with  Eastern  Minnesota  limited  passenger 
train  Xo.  4,  engine  Xo.  125,  having  five  coaches,  en  route  for  St 
Paul. 

Arriving  at  Holyoke,  a  station  thirty  miles  out,  the  smoke  was  so 
thick  that  we  had  to  light  the  headlight  and  cab  lamp.  The  next 
station  was  Kerrick.  We  were  making  regular  running  ti:ne  of 
train,  and  not  hearing  from  the  general  office  at  West  Superior  of 
any  danger,  we  thought  it  would  break  away  when  we  came  to  Hinck- 
ley  and  it  did ;  but  the  sky  was  very  lurid,  although  when  we  turned 
the  curve  going  into  Hinckley  everything  looked  peaceful,  except 
south  of  the  town,  where  the  Great  Xorthern  yards  were  on  fire. 

We  reached  Hinckley  at  3:25  p.  m.,  and,  having  done  our  regular 
work,  we  pulled  down  to  the  water  tank  for  water.  It  was  so  hot 
that  I  was  driven  from  the  spout  three  times,  and  would  have  given 
it  up  had  it  not  been  for  our  engineer,  William  Best,  who  called  to 
me  in  his  always  pleasant  way  to  fill  the  tank  if  I  could.  The  freight 
station  and  cars  were  all  on  fire.  We  backed  from  the  tank. 

Our  passenger  conductor,  Powers,  came  up  to  the  engine  and 
said  to  our  engineer :  "The  local  freight  train  XTo.  23,  is  in  the  yard  ; 
how  would  it  do  to  have  them  couple  on  behind  us?"  Mr.  Best 
said  it  was  just  what  he  wanted,  if  it  did  not  take  too  long.  By  the 
time  they  had  coupled  on  it  was  getting  pretty  hot;  it  then  looked 
as  though  we  would  have  to  back  away  from  Hinckley.  We  were 
standing  at  the  passenger  station,  and  the  wind  was  blowing  a  gale. 
It  was  not  more  than  five  or  ten  minutes  before  a  sheet  of  flame 
shot  up  to  the  clouds,  and  the  whole  town  was  on  fire. 

The  people  commenced  to  run  toward  the  train.     Our  engineer 


174 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  175 

consulted  with  Conductor  Powers  in  regard  to  how  long  we  could 
stay.  Of  course  we  would  stay  until  the  coaches  were  filled  with 
those  poor  people  who  were  running  for  their  lives  from  the  fire; 
but  the  question  was,  how  long  could  we  stay  without  burning  up 
the  train. 

Engineer  Barry,  of  the  local  train,  gave  two  sharp  whistles,  a  signal 
to  pull  out.  Our  engineer,  Best,  jumped  on  our  engine  and  ap- 
plied the  brakes  to  it  and  to  our  coaches.  Conductor  Campbell, 
of  the  local,  came  up  and  said  to  our  engineer:  "Barry  will  cut  off 
his  engine  and  pull  out!"  Our  engineer  said,  "I  guess  not!"  Then 
a  brakeman  came  up  with  the  same  story.  As  they  were  leading 
women  and  children,  again  and  again  did  Barry's  freight  engine 
scream  out  those  two  short  whistles,  a  signal  to  go  ahead;  but  we 
had  just  come  over  the  road  and  our  engineer  said  he  would  use 
his  own  judgment  and  not  move  until  he  saw  fit. 

Men  pushed  women  and  children  away  in  order  to  get  in  them- 
selves. Several  men  jumped  up  on  the  engine  and  said  to  our  en- 
gineer: "Back  up!  back  up!  or  wre  will  all  be  burned!"  One  of 
them  was  the  section  foreman  of  Hinckley.  Best  replied,  "Boys,  do 
not  get  excited;  we  are  all  right  yet!"  Some  of  the  passengers 
wanted  to  back  up;  others  wanted  to  help.  Our  engineer  told 
them  to  get  in  the  cars,  and  we  would  take  care  of  them.  But  they 
went  to  work  gladly  helping  to  load  the  people,  and  making  room 
for  them  in  the  cars;  there  were  some  out  working  with  the  train- 
men. 

I  could  see  Conductor  Powers  running  here  and  there,  helping  this 
one  and  that  one,  and  Conductor  Campbell,  of  the  local  train,  doing 
the  same  work  of  the  trainmen;  as  fast  as  the  people  came  they 
were  taken  into  the  cars.  It  was  gettiii-g  awfully  hot  by  this  time, 
and  again  would  the  freight  engine  give  that  terrible  scream  to  go 
ahead,  but  our  engineer  held  the  train  under  his  control.  He  turned 
to  me  and  said,  "God  God!  will  I  sacrifice  the  train  at  last?"  for 
it  was  terrible  -now;  but  God  was  watching  over  us  and  we  were 
to  be  saved.  The  anxiety  for  me  was  awful. 

At  last  Engineer  Best  got  down  on  the  step  of  the  engine  and 
looked  around  to  see  if  any  more  could  get  to  us.  I  could  see 
people,  houses  and  cattle,  falling  around  us.  To  remain  longer  was 
death  to  all.  He  got  back  on  the  engine  and  released  the  brakes 
on  the  train,  and  we  left  Hinckley. 

We  passed  the  road  crossing  just  north  of  the  town,  then  backed 


176  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

over  the  Grindstone  bridge  and  stopped,  and  people  came  running 
up  the  track.  We  waited  and  got  on  all  whom  we  could;  see,  then 
backed  up  to  Sandstone.  Here  again  we  stopped  for  a  few  minutes. 

Engineer  Barry  came  up  to  Engineer  Best  and  said,  "The  con- 
ductors are  going  to  stop  here."  Best  got  off  the  engine  to  speak 
to  the  conductors  and  said,  "We  want  to  get  out  as  quickly  as  pos- 
sible, for  the  fire  is  coming  on  us  fast!"  Then  we  backed  up  to 
Kettle  River  bridge. 

There  is  a  standing  order  to  run  this  bridge  at  four  miles  per 
hour  and  as  an  extra  precaution  the  company  have  a  watchman 
there,  and  we  do  not  pass  without  a  signal  from  the  watchman. 
Here  we  slowed  to  four  miles  an  hour.  We  got  a  signal  from  the 
watchman  that  everything  was  all  right,  which  we  answered,  and 
rolled  onto  the  bridge.  Our  next  station  was  Partridge  where  we 
stopped.  The  passengers  came  up  to  the  engine  and  asked  for 
water;  we  gave  them  all  they  wanted  to  drink,  as  they  were  suf- 
focating from  the  heat,  then  we  went  ahead  and  were  ever  so  thank- 
ful to  see  West  Superior  again. 

NEWS    AGENT  GEORGE  S.  COLE. 

In  accordance  with  your  verbal  request  of  the  26th  inst,  I  have 
the  honor  to  submit  the  following  statement,  covering  my  personal 
experience  in  connection  with  the  recent  forest  fires  which  have  de- 
stroyed the  town  of  Hinckley  and  other  places  in  this  state. 

On  Saturday,  September  first,  1894,  the  Eastern  railway  train  No. 
4,  south  bound,  left  Dulttth  for  St.  Paul,  at  one  o'clock  p.  m.  in 
charge  of  Conductor  Harry  Powers,  Engineer  William  Best,  Brake- 
man  O.  L.  Beach,  Fireman  J.  Kellock,  Express  Messenger  Massey 
Baker,  and  Parlor  Car  Porter  George  Goodin.  The  train  consisted 
of  two  parlor  cars,  two  day  coaches,  and  one  combination  smoking 
car. 

We  had  a  large  number  of  passengers  leaving  Duluth,  and  got 
many  more  at  West  Superior  and  a  few  at  South  Superior.  All 
went  well  until  we  got  close  to  Dedham,  Wisconsin,  which  is  about 
fifteen  miles  from  Duluth,  and  then  we  discovered  the  woods  on 
fire,  and  the  atmosphere  in  the  cars  became  hot  and  smoky.  In 
passing  through  the  cars,  back  and  forth,  I  was  questioned  by  many 
of  the  passengers  as  to  the  probable  danger  from  fire,  and  I  in- 
formed them  that  I  apprehended  no  danger  after  the  train  got  out 
of  the  woods. 


MIX XE SOT 'A.  FOREST  FIRES.  177 

The  smoke,  heat  and  darkness  continued  from  Dedham  to  Sand- 
stone, a  distance  of  about  forty-five  miles.  From  Sandstone  to 
Hinckley  we  did  not  experience  any  great  inconvenience  from  smoke 
or  heat,  and  all  on  board  of  the  train  thought  the  danger  was  passed, 
but  upon  our  arrival  at  Hinckley  we  found  the  whole  town  in  flames 
and  the  inhabitants  wild  with  excitement.  After  stopping  at  the  de- 
pot the  train  ran  down  to  the  water  tank,  a  distance  of  about  six  hun- 
dred yards,  where  the  engine  took  water,  and  a  short  consultation 
was  held  by  the  conductor  and  engineer.  After  taking  water,  the 
train  was  backed  to  the  depot,  where  we  found  Conductor  Campbell 
and  Engineer  Ed.  Barry  with  freight  train  Xo.  23  north  bound  for 
West  Superior.  Conductors  Powers  and  Campbell  then  held  a  con- 
sultation, and  decided  to  attach  three  empty  box  cars  to  the  pas- 
senger coaches,  and  load  them  with  passengers  and  such  light  bag- 
gage as  the  people  were  bringing  to  the  train. 

While  at  Hinckley  I  did  all  in  my  power  to  assist  the  people  i:i 
their  escape  from  that  place.  After  taking  all  on  board  the  train 
proceeded  to  Sandstone,  and  upon  arriving  there  Conductor  Pow- 
ers waited  for  orders  from  the  train  dispatcher.  After  receiving 
the  necessary  orders  we  proceeded  slowly  toward  Duluth,  picking 
up  passengers  en  route,  and  running  through  a  great  deal  of  fire 
and  smoke,  which  made  it  so  hot  in  the  cars  that  the  passengers 
drank  all  the  water  that  the  filters  contained,  and  then  ate  the  ice 
which  remained. 

On  arriving  at  Kerrick  station  we  stopped  for  a  few  minutes  and 
I  got  a  passenger  to  accompany  me  to  the  engine,  when  we  got  a 
pail  from  Engineer  Best  and  carried  six  pails  of  water  to  the  cars, 
which  satisfied  the  passengers  until  we  arrived  in  Duluth. 

In  justice  to  all  concerned,  I  deem  it  only  my  duty  to  say  that, 
in  my  opinion,  the  heroism,  bravery  and  coolness  displayed  by  the 
train  crews  under  this  trying  ordeal,  have  never  been  excelled  in 
the  history  of  this  state.  Respectfully  submitted, 

GEORGE  S.  COLE,  News  Agent. 

CONDUCTOR  W.  D.  CAMPBELL. 

Yours  of  February  seventh  to  hand  and  contents  noted.  I  left 
West  Superior  on  the  morning  of  September  first,  1894,  in  charge 
of  train  Xo.  24  on  the  Eastern  Minnesota.  We  arrived  in  Hinckley 
about  2 135  p.  m.  and  found  fire  all  along  the  road.  About  i  :3o  or 


178 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  F1KES.  179 

2  p.  m.  the  wind  commenced  to  blow  and  fan  the  fires,  which  had 
been  burning1  in  this  vicinity  for  some  time,  into  fierce  flames. 

When  we  arrived  at  Hinckley  we  found  the  fires  burning  the  ties 
in  the  east  end  of  the  yard.  The  residents  and  fire  department  were 
out  fighting  the  fire  when  we  arrived,  but  the  heat  was  so  intense  and 
the  smoke  so  blinding  that  the  people  were  powerless.  We  could 
not  leave  Hinckley  as  the  wires  were  down  and  train  No.  4  was 
due  there  at  3 :25  p.  m. 

On  arrival  of  train  Xo.  4  we  took  three  merchandise  cars  with 
us  and  coupled  into  train  No.  4,  since  they  could  go  no  further,  and 
prepared  to  make  our  escape  to  West  Superior. 

At  this  time  the  residents  of  Hinckley  had  begun  to  flee  for  a 
place  of  safety,  and  in  making  for  the  gravel  pit  found  our  train. 
All  who  wished  got  on  the  train,  but  many  sought  other  places 
of  safety.  About  75  persons  went  out  on  the  government  road 
and  were  found  dead  near  where  we  last  found  them.  The  heat  was 
so  intense  by  this  time  that  we  could  not  remain  outside  the  cars, 
and  everything  that  we  could  do  being  done,  we  left  there. 

It  was  about  4:10  p.  m.  and  the  fire  was  ahead  of  us  and  on  all 
sides. 

Engineer  Barry  claimed  that  he  was  so  blinded  he  could  not  see, 
and  as  the  engine  was  backing  up,  Brakemen  O.  L.  Beach  and  Peter 
McLaughlin  volunteered  to  ride  the  back  tender  and  act  as  look- 
outs, where  they  rode  to  Kerrick,  a  distance  of  about  thirty  miles. 

You  will  understand  that  both  engines  were  backing  up,  one  on 
each  end  of  the  combination  train,  and  therefore  had  one  of  the  many 
bridges  that  were  on  fire  been  gone,  the  train  could  not  have  been 
saved,  as  the  men  could  see  nothing;  we  were  running  through 
darkness,  the  smoke  having  shut  out  the  light  of  day. 

We  arrived  in  South  Superior  about  7:30  p.  m.,  when  I  turned  my 
train  over  to  Conductor  Powers. 

You  will  understand  that  the  trains  I  ran,  Nos.  23  and  24,  only 
run  from  West  Superior  to  Hinckley  and  return.  Ed.  Barry  was 
engineer,  Thistle  the  fireman,  and  the  brakemen,  Gilham  and  Mc- 
Laughlin, who  will  communicate  with  you.  I  remain  very  respect- 
fully, W.  D.  CAMPBELL. 

EXG-INEER  EDWARD  BARRY. 

Yours  of  the  7th  inst.  to  hand  and  in  answer  will  say  that  I  left 
West  Superior  on  train  twenty -four  on  September  first,  1894,  W.  D. 


180 


MINNESOTA  FOEEST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  181 

Campbell  conductor,  and  proceeded  to  Partridge  where  it  was  so 
dark,  the  air  being  filled  with  smoke,  that  I  had  to  light  the  head- 
light on  the  engine  and  the  lights  in  the  cab,  and  then  it  was  next 
to  impossible  to  see. 

1  proceeded  toward  Hinckley  slowly,  expecting  to  find  bridges  on 
fire.  We  arrived  there  at  2:45  p.  m.,  and  found  all  the  people  out 
fighting  fire,  whrch  was  surrounding  the  town  on  all  sides.  We 
set  out  our  train  on  the  side  track,  and  went  to  the  lower  end  of 
the  yard.  Everything  was  on  fire,  the  ties  under  the  rails  were 
burning,  and  the  box  cars  on  the  side  track  were  on  fire.  I  got 
back  to  the  water  tank  as  quick  as  I  could,  it  being  impossible  to 
see,  and  the  rails  started  to  warp  in  the  yard.  We  stood  on  the 
side  track  waiting  for  passenger  train  Xo.  4,  which  was  due  at 
3:25  p.  m.,  in  charge  of  Conductor  Powers  and  Engineer  Best.  I 
notified  them  that  they  could  go  no  further,  as  the  rails  were  warped, 
everything  being  on  fire  east  of  there  and  that  it  was  dangerous  to 
go  any  further. 

I  was  running  engine  105  with  A.  R.  Thistle  as  fireman.  We 
went  in  on  the  side  track  and  got  three  large  box  cars  and  a  caboose, 
and  pulling  out  on  the  main  track,  coupled  onto  the  rear  end  of 
the  passenger  train,  I  was  regular  train  Xo.  23  and  had  the  rights 
of  the  road  from  Hinckley  to  West  Superior,  and  the  passenger 
train  was  helpless,  as  they  could  get  no  order  to  back  up. 

I  pulled  my  train,  with  passenger  train,  down  to  the  depot;  it 
was  composed  of  three  box  cars,  one  caboose,  coaches  and  one 
combination  car;  and  waited  for  the  people  to  get  on,  as  they  were 
coming  from  all  directions.  Some  of  them  failed  to  reach  the  train, 
being  overcome  with  the  fire  and  smoke,  and  died  from  the  effects 
in  p!~in  sight  of  me.  By  this  time  the  storm  was  a  regular  cyclone, 
and  it  was  impossible  to  see  or  to  stay  an}'  longer  at  the  depot 

The  conductor,  W.  D.  Campbell,  told  me  to  pull  across  Grind- 
stone river,  which  is  one -half  mile  west  of  Hinckley;  the  bridge  con- 
sisted of  one  span ;  it  caught  fire  while  we  were  standing  there  load- 
ing passengers.  The  ties  and  bridges  ahead  of  me  were  all  on 
fire  and  my  only  salvation  was  to  pull  out  at  once  and  head  the 
fire  off.  I  knew  if  we  stayed  there  any  longer  we  would  all  be 
burned.  Conductor  Campbell  gave  me  a  signal  to  go.  I  whistled 
off  brakes  and  started. 

When  one  mile  west  of  Hinckley  I  saw  m;n.  women  and. children 
coming  from  all  directions.  I  called  for  brakes  and  re- 
versed engine,  and  stopped  and  picked  up  the  people  and  then 


182  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

started  again  and  ran  as  fast  as  a  wheel  could  turn  under  an  engine. 
By  this  time  we  had  about  five  hundred  of  the  Hinckley  people  on 
our  train  Xo.  23,  who  were  packed  in  the  box  cars,  coaches  and  en- 
gine and  every  available  place  on  the  train.  Every  bridge  we 
crossed  between  Hinckley  and  Sandstone  was  on  fire. 

When  we  arrived  at  Sandstone  Conductor  Powers  wanted  to  stay 
there.  He  thought  that  everything  west  of  us  was  burned  and  that 
it  wasn't  safe  to  go  farther.  I  refused  to  stay  there  and  said  we 
would  better  take  our  chances  of  crossing  Kettle  River  bridge,  even 
if  it  were  on  fire,  than  to  stay  at  Sandstone,  which  meant  sure  death 
anyway,  as  the  fire  had  reached  there.  He  said,  "All  right,  go  ahead. 
You  are  running  the  engine  and  have  the  right  of  road."  I  pulled 
out  and  hadn't  been  gone  more  than  fifteen  minutes  before  the  peo- 
ple who  did  not  get  on  the  train  or  get  into  the  river,  were  burned 
up.  When  I  got  to  Kettle  river  bridge  the  cold  shudders  ran 
through  me  for  I  expected  to  find  the  bridge  burned,  and  it  was  on 
fire  at  the  time.  The  watchman  called  to  me  that  it  was  all  right 
to  go  ahead,  as  the  fire  had  just  struck  it. 

We  arrived  at  Partridge  and  there  I  found  that  our  supply  of  coal 
and  water  for  the  engine  had  almost  given  out,  and  that  me  must 
have  more  before  we  could  go  further.  The  people  were  packed 
so  tight  in  the  cars  that  they  were  nearly  suffocated.  I  went  with 
the  men  to  O'Neil's  logging  camp  near  by  for  water  pails  and  cups, 
and  carried  water  to  the  suffering  passengers  to  revive  them.  I 
finally  got  started  toward  West  Superior  again.  I  stopped  at  all 
stations  and  notified  all  \he  people  of  what  had  happened. 

Before  I  arrived  at  Kerrick  my  eyesight  had  become  so  affected 
by  the  smoke  and  fire  that  I  could  not  see.  I  stopped  there  twenty 
minutes  to  bathe  my  eyes.  I  got  them  doctored  so  that  I  could 
see  well  enough  to  start  again  and  arrived  at  West  Superior  all  safe 
and  sound  with  the  five  hundred  passengers  on  board. 

I  failed  to  state  that  while  I  was  at  Partridge  I  got  orders  to  run 
ahead  of  train  Xo.  3;  (train  22  was  abandoned  to  run  slowly)  and 
to  use  my  own  judgment. 

Enclosed  find  my  photograph  which  you  requested.  These  are 
the  facts  as  they  occurred  from  the  time  I  left  West  Superior  on 
train  24  and  from  Hinckley  to  West  Superior  on  train  23,  pulling 
passenger  train  consisting  of  coaches  and  engine  125,  three  box 
cars  and  one  caboose  from  Hinckley  to  West  Superior. 

Hoping  this  explanation  is  what  you  desire,  I  am  yours  truly, 

ED.  BARRY,  Engineer, 


FOREST  FIRES.  183 

BRAKEAIAX  C.  C.  FREEA1AX. 

We  left  West  Superior  at  seven  a.  m.  for  Hinckley  on  train  24, 
September  first,  1894,  and  on  arriving  at  Partridge  the  sun  became 
clouded  by  smoke,  and  we  knew  that  there  must  be  a  big  fire  south 
of  us.  On  arriving  at  Sandstone  it  was  so  dark  that  we  could  hardly 
see  to  do  our  switching. 

On  leaving  Sandstone  about  two  p.  m.  I  lighted  the  side  lights 
of  the  cab  so  that  they  might  see  the  cab  from  the  head  end. 

When  we  reached  Hinckley,  about  2:30  p.  m.  it  was  so  hot  and 
the  smoke  so  dense,  that  we  could  not  see  half  way  over  the  train. 
We  pulled  down  in  the  yard  and  pulled  through  the  AI.  &  AI. 
track  Xo.  2  and  left  all  our  train  excepting  three  or  four  cars,  \\v_ich 
were  for  St.  Paul,  which  we  set  on  Eastern  Alinnesota  track  Xo. 
two  or  three.  The  engine  then  came  back  to  the  north  end  of  the 
yard,  where  the  heat  was  so  intense  that  they  could  not  get  on  the 
turntable  to  turn  it,  or  get  any  coal. 

I  was  getting  the  numbers  of  some  cars  that  we  intended  to  bring 
back.  I  got  the  numbers  of  thirty-four  loads.  The  next  was  a  car 
of  merchandise,  the  number  of  which  I  wrote  on  the  book,  and  then 
I  heard  the  engine  give  two  whistles,  which  I  knew  meant  that 
they  were  going  over  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  crossing.  I  looked 
up  to  see  which  way  I  should  go,  and  saw  that  the  cars  were  on 
fire  right  in  front  of  me.  I  then  started  lor  the  office  and  nearly 
suffocated  before  getting  there,  when  I  found  that  all  the  trainmen 
had  gone,  and  that  only  Air.  Alurry,  the  telegraph  operator,  and 
Mr.  George  Surgeon,  the  agent,  were  there.  We  stayed  there  as 
long  as  we  could,  then  started  for  the  upper  office,  where  we  found 
that  train  Xo.  4  from  West  Superior  for  St.  Paul,  had  just  arrived. 

I  told  Engineer  Best  that  he  could  not  get  through  the  lower 
yard,  as  all  the  cars  were  on  fire  when  I  left  there.  I  then  found 
Conductor  W.  D.  Campbell,  of  train  23,  and  we  took  all  the  cars 
that  were  on  the  house  track,  three  in  number,  and  our  cab,  and 
coupled  onto  the  rear  end  of  the  passenger  train,  and  then  were 
ready  to  come  back. 

We  loaded  everybody  that  we  had  time  to  before  the  fire  drove 
us  away,  staying  there  about  eight  or  ten  minutes  after  we  coupled 
to  the  passenger  train,  during  which  time  the  train  was  started  three 
or  four  times,  because  Engineer  Barry  thought  it  perilous  to  stay 
longer,  as  the  fire  was  so  near  and  so  hot.  We  stopped,  however, a 
short  time  longer. 


184 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


JOHN  G.  HOWARD,  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  BUILDINGS. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  185 

When  we  left  there  we  pulled  across  Grindstone  river  bridge  and 
stopped  again,  to  pick  up  what  people  we  could.  We  waited  per- 
haps four  or  five  minutes,  during  which  time  the  train  was  started 
that  many  times,  and  I  stopped  it  until  Conductor  Powers  and  Camp- 
bell deemed  it  unsafe  to  stay  any  longer.  We  then  started  for  good. 
As  engine  105  was  backing  up  Brakemen  C.  Beach,  of  the  passen- 
ger train,  G.  Gillam,  P.  McLaughlin  and  myself  of  train  23,  were  on 
the  back  of  the  tank  to  watch  for  danger.  As  we  were  nearing  the 
first  bridge,  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  this  side  of  Hinckley,  we 
could  see  that  it  was  on  fire  and  slowed  up  a  little,  but  thought  it 
better  to  go  on  than  to  stop,  so  we  started  and  did  not  stop  again 
until  we  got  to  Sandstone.  Every  bridge  we  crossed  over  from 
Hinckley  to  Sandstone,  was  on  fire. 

We  got  to  Sandstone  O.  K.,  where  we  tried  to  get  the  residents 
to  get  on  the  train;  but  the  fire  was  not  burning  very  fiercely  there 
then,  and  they  did  not  wish  to  leave  their  homes,  they  said;  so 
we  started  again. 

Kettle  river  bridge  was  not  on  fire  when  we  crossed  it,  or  any 
more  bridges  from  there  to  West  Superior. 

On  reaching  Partridge  the  poor  little  ones  and  the  ladies  who 
were  in  the  cars  were  nearly  famished.  G.  W.  Gilham  and  I  with 
some  of  the  men  who  were  aboard  got  water  for  the  children  and 
sick  women  to  drink.  We  were  there  about  twenty-five  or  thirty 
minutes. 

Mr.  G.  W.  Gilham  and  myself  rode  the  back  of  the  tank  from  there 
to  Dedham,  where  we  were  not  able  to  see  any  more  from  the  ashes 
and  smoke.  We  stopped  at  all  places  from  Partridge  to  West  Su- 
perior, and  notified  people  to  look  out  for  fire. 

On  arriving  at  West  Superior  our  engines  were  uncoupled  from 
our  train  and  a  switch  engine  took  us  to  Duluth,  where  \ve  left  all 
the  cars  and  came  back  to  West  Superior  and  home.  From  what 
I  have  heard  and  from  books  that  have  been  printed,  there  were 
only  one  or  two  men  who  got  any  credit  for  the  work  done  on  the 
first  day  of  last  September.  If  they  are  the  only  ones  deserving  of 
credit,  let  it  be  so,  but  I  do  not  think  there  was  a  man  on  that  train 
who  did  not  do  all  in  his  power  to  save  the  lives  of  every  one  that 
he  could,  a  nd  the  property  of  the  company  as  well. 

The  names  of  the  crews  on  train  4  and  23  are  given  below: 

On  train  Xo.  4,  H.  L.  Powers,  conductor;  W.  B.  Best,  engineer, 
engine  Xo.  125;  and  C.  Beach,  brakeman. 


]86  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

On  train  Xo.  23,  W.  D.  Campbell,  conductor;  Edward  Barry, 
engineer,  engine  Xo.  105,  and  Charles  C.  Freeman,  G.  W.  Gilbam 
and  A.  McLaughlin,  brakemen. 

FIREMAN  A.  R.  THISTLE. 

I  was  firing  engine  105  on  September  first,  on  trains  23  and  24  be- 
tween West  Superior  and  Hinckley.  We  arrived  in  Hinckley  at 
2:45  P-  m-  an(l  found  the  yard  and  town  surrounded  by  fire  and 
everybody  out  fighting  fire.  We  put  the  train  away  with  difficulty. 
We  could  not  make  up  the  train  on  account  of  fire  and  smoke,  so 
we  went  on  the  side  track  and  waited  the  arrival  of  tr-ain  Xo.  4  then 
nearly  due.  We  did  not  get  our  engine  turned,  as  the  fire  had 
already  caught  the  telegraph  office,  and  was  dangerously  near  the 
round  house  and  turn-table. 

On  arrival  of  train  Xo.  4,  we  backed  up  to  the  passenger  station, 
along  with  that  train,  as  they  could  not  get  any  farther,  and  took 
three  box  cars  from  the  freight  house  along  with  caboose,  and 
coupled  onto  the  rear  end  of  the  passenger  train;  then  waited  until 
everybody  got  aboard.  We  then  started  for  West  Superior. 

Hinckley  was  all  in  flames  when  we  left. 

We  were  signaled  to  stop  at  the  mile  board  and  did  so,  taking  on 
a  few  more  people.  It  was  then  as  dark  as  night  and  the  ties  in 
a  great  many  places  were  on  fire;  also  some  of  the  bridges  between 
Hinckley  and  Sandstone.  We  stopped  at  all  stations  between  Hinck- 
ley and  West  Superior. 

HEROES  REMEMBERED. 

The  Hinckley  fire  sufferers  feel  that  they  owe  a  great  debt  of 
gratitude  to  the  brave  railroad  men  of  the  Eastern  Minnesota,  who 
rescued  500  of  their  number  from  almost  certain  destruction  on  that 
fatal  September  afternoon,  when  the  fire  king  in  his  fury  raged 
through  the  forest,  sweeping  towns  and  farm  houses  out  of  exist- 
ence and  destroying  many  hundreds  of  lives.  Thev  remember  how 
the  boys  in  charge  of  that  train,  when  the  shadow  of  death  was  r  ver 
all,  worked  rapidly,  seriously,  and  with  perfect  composure,  with  the 
single  object  of  rescuing  human  life.  They  remember  the  terrible 
experience  of  the  ride  through  the  burning  forest,  whore  serpents 
of  flame  writhed  and  clambered  and  it  was  an  open  question  whether 
or  not  death  had  intercepted  them  and  waited  the.ir  arrival  a  littk 
farther  on. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  187 

Prominent  among  the  men  \vho  distinguished  themselves  on  that 
memorable  day  were  Engineer  Edward  Barry  and  Conductor  W.  D. 
Campbell,  of  the  freight  train  which  doubled  up  with  the  passenger 
on  that  occasion.  The  Hinckley  people  have  presented  to  these  two 
gentlemen  each  a  solid  gold  medal  in  the  form  of  a  six  pointed  star 
and  which  is  suitable  for  being-  worn  as  a  watch  charm.  On  the 
face  of  each  charm  is  inscribed:  "Hinckley  Fire  Sufferers,  to 
— ,"  mentioning  the  name  of  the  recipient.  On  the  reverse 
side  appears  the  following:  "In  recognition  of  his  heroism  and 
bravery." 


188 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


PIXE   CITY. 

D  INE  CITY  is  the  county  seat  of  Pine  county,  and  the  town  near- 
^  est  to  the  scene  of  disaster.  It  is  bisected  by  the  St.  Paul  & 
Duluth  Railway;  it  was  from  this  place  that  the  memorable  tele- 
grams telling  the  world  of  the  great  fire  were  sent,  and  John  F.  Stone, 
the  well  known  proprietor  of  the  Pioneer  House,  the  man  who  sent 
them;  the  operator  was  Mr.  A.  J.  Armstrong.  Not  often  in  the 
memory  of  men  now  living,  have  any  messages  gone  over  the  wires, 
which  awakened  such  world-wide  interest.  As  soon  as  the  work  of 
the  fire  was  known,  every  one,  who  in  Pine  City  could  help,  were 
glad  to  do  so,  and  interest  to  the  close  of  the  work  never  abated  for 
an  instant.  To  tell  who  helped  would  be  to  tell  the  names  of  the 
adult  population  and  many  of  the  children. 

To  Pine  City,  telegrams  came  from  near  and  far  like  a  flood,  one 
man  could  not  have  possibly  done  the  work.  Telegrams  to  persons 
who  had  relatives  in  the  fire  and  from  relatives  to  those  who  had  es- 
caped its  heat  and  flames,  from  all  sorts  of  people  offering  help  and 
asking  questions.  Crowds  flocked  to  Pine  City  on  foot,  in  wagons 
and  buggies,  and  by  trains,  the  representatives  of  the  state,  of  the 
great  cities;  lawyers,  doctors,  clergymen  and  nurses;  every  rank  in 
society  found  this  a  convenient  place.  The  refugees  might  be  seen 
upon  the  streets,  men  upon  whose  faces  the  terrible  anxiety  of  the 
fatal  Saturday  had  stamped  an  indelible  mark;  they  were  too  sad 
to  speak;  women  who  had  little  children  in  their  arms,  into  whose 
faces  they  looked  and  took  a  sweet  pleasure  in  so  doing,  even  though 
they  knew  that  to  provide  for  these  little  ones  meant  for  them  years 
of  dreary  work,  hard  toil  and  sacrifice;  children  out  of  whose  lives 
had  departed  the  comforts  of  other  years.  Some  of  these  people  had 
escaped  death  only  by  most  wonderful  providence.  There  was  one 
common  bond  of  sympathy,  and  that  was  that  they  had  all  had 
similar,  though  different  experiences. 

Every  available  place  which  could  be  of  service  to  those  from  the 
burned  localities  was  used  in  the  way  found  best.  There  were  never 
wanting  ready  hands  prompted  by  loving  hearts,  to  assist  to  the  very 


190 


MINNESOTA  FORREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  191 

uttermost  each  and  all  who  wanted  help.  The  ladies  did  a  work 
which  they  may  well  look  back  upon  with  pleasure.  Mrs.  J.  F.  Stone 
worked  long  and  hard,  day  and  night  and  many  a  fire  sufferer  will 
carry  grateful  memories  of  her  kindness  to  their  latest  day.  Mrs.  L. 
E.  Breckenridge  was  one  of  the  women  who  counted  toil  joy  and 
labor  sweet  if  she  could,  as  she  did,  bring  light  to  many  hearts.  She 
was  night  and  day  at  the  drug  store,  bright  hopeful  and  useful  to  a 
degree  no  words  can  fully  tell.  Mrs.  Kate  Vaughan,  Mrs.  F.  A. 
Hodge,  Mrs.  L.  H.  McKusick  and  Miss  Nannie  Monk  all  did  noble 
work,  with  many  others.  Amongst  the  men  who  worked  incessantly 
were  lawyer  S.  S.  L.  Roberts,  John  Vaughan,  Otto  Mowalkee  and 
Henry  Kath.  These  men  led  the  crew  that  went  out  on  hand  cars 
on  the  Saturday  night.  A  good  system  of  registration  had  to  be 
adopted,  places  at  which  meals  could  be  had  provided,  steps  taken  to 
ensure  that  all  had  not  only  a  place  in  which  to  sleep,  but  where 
they  could  be  sure  of  plenty  to  eat.  Mr.  H.  H.  Hart  was  on  hand 
with  Mr.  Arvold  and  Mr.  J.  F,  JacksQn,  secretary  of  Associated  Char- 
ities of  St.  Paul,  Mr.  J.  T.  Manix,  secretary  to  Mayor  Eustis,  Min- 
neapolis, and  many  other  well  known  people  made  Pine  City  head- 
quarters. The  following  ticket  shows  how  the  admission  to  the 
dining  room  was  gained: 

|  1       |  •  9   •  I;.   3  .  -.|     '     1      |      9.     |      3  1       I      3      !      3  I 


OOOD     KOR     21     MEALS 
TO 

STATE     RELIEK    COMMISSION. 


NOT  GOOD  UNLESS   COUNTERSIGNED. 


J.  F.JACKSON,  Agent,  Pine  City,     f 


Every  one  entitled  to  such  a  ticket  received  it  freely.  The  mayor 
and  officials  gave  the  freedom  of  the  town  and  hospitality  of  the 
people  to  their  neighbors  in  all  their  trouble.  The  whole  state  is 
debtor  to  the  good  citizens  of  Pine  City  for  what  they  so  self-sac- 
rificingly  did  in  the  month  of  September,  1894.  The  narrative  of  Mr. 
Stone  will  be  read  with  deep  interest. 

PINE  CITY,  MINN.,  Sept.  1,  1894. 
To  the  PIONEER  PRESS  and  GLOBE,  St.  Paul,  Minn.: 

The  forest  fires  north  of  the  town  are  raging  with  savage  fury,  the 
high  winds  through  the  day  have  fanned  every  spark  into  a  flame  and 


192  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

it  has  been  traveling  over  the  country,  sweeping-  everything  before 
it.  Settlers  are  being  driven  from  their  homes  to  seek  shelter  in 
the  marshes ;  hay  and  buildings  consumed,  and  che  air  in  suffocating 
condition  from  heat  and  smoke.  The  north  bound  Limited  train 
with  all  the  passengers,  is  now  laid  up  at  this  place  waiting  to  get 
through  to  Duluth.  Crews  are  out  working  on  burnt  culverts  and 
repairing  bent  rails  to  get  the  trains  through  if  possible,  tonight. 
There  is  no  communication  with  Hinckley,  but  it  is  feared  here  that 
the  town  is  in  imminent  danger.  Relief  crews  are  being  sent  out 
from  town  as  rapidly  as  possible  to  aid  the  distressed  settlers.  At 
this  writing  (10:30  p.  m.)  the  wind  has  died  away  and  hope  has  cor- 
respondingly increased.  No  danger  to  this  town  at  present. 

STOXE. 

PINE  CITY,  MINN.,  Sept.  i,  1S94. 
To  the  PIONEER  PRESS  and  GLOBE,  St.  Paul,  Minn.: 

Hinckley  burned  to  ashes;  many  people  lost  their  lives  in  the  fire, 
balance  are  homeless  and  destitute;  send  relief  if  possible  at  once. 
The  little  town  of  Mission  Creek  entirely  wiped  out.  Engineer  Jim 
Root  probably  fatally  burned.  Situation  appalling  and  heart-rend- 
ing in  the  extreme.  STOXE. 

PINE  CITY,  MINN.,  Sept.  2,  1894. 

To  Gov.  NELSON,  Minneapolis,  Minn.: 

Relief  committee  to  receive  aid  for  Hinckley  sufferers  is  James 
Hurley,  J.  F.  Stone,  E.  A.  Haugh,  H.  Birchers,  J.  W.  Breckinridge, 
all  at  Pine  City,  to  whom  supplies  should  be  sent. 

J.  F.  STOXE. 

PINE  CITY,  MINN.,  Sept.  2,  1894. 

To  the  PIONEER  PRESS  and  GLOBE,  St.  Paul,  Minn.: 

Relief  party  has  gone  from  here  with  medical  aid  fcr  the  suffering 
and  provisions  for  the  hungry.  Wires  are  down  and  no  communica- 
tion since  train  came  down  at  12  o'clock.  The  town  is  completely 
wiped  out.  The  Limited  train  from  Duluth,  Root,  engineer,  was 
caught  in  the  fire  and  Root  standing  to  his  post  like  a  hero,  ran  his 
train  back  to  Skunk  Lake  with  it  all  on  fire,  and  saved  his  passen- 
gers. When  last  seen,  he  was  lying  in  his  cab,  badly  burned  but 
breathing.  The  people  of  Mission  Creek  saved  themselves  by  lying 
down  in  a  potato  patch  until  the  fiery  indignation  was  past.  The  dis- 
aster is  full  and  complete  and  sad  enough  to  dismay  the  strongest 
heart.  Relief  temporary,  substantial,  and  immediate  is  needed  and 
needed  bad. 

The  Limited  passenger  train,  six  miles  above  Hinckley,  is  in  ashes, 
and  about  two  hundred  people  are  there  in  the  marsh  near  Skunk 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  193 

Lake,  with  fire  all  around  them.  Yard  master  at  Hinckley  is  badly 
burned.  The  relief  party  is  pushing  through  and  hope  to  get  there 
by  2  o'clock.  It  was  only  by  the  most  superhuman  effort  that  the 
train  was  backed  out  of  the  fire  and  the  passengers  saved.  Poor 
Root!  he  ought  to  live,  such  men  are  always  heroes  in  time  of  need. 

STONE. 

ST.  PAUL,  MINN.,  Sept.  2,  1894. 
To  FRED  A.  HODGE,  Pine  City,  Minn.: 

Special  train  with  food  and  blankets  leave  here  at  3:30  for  Pine 
City.  Tents  and  clothing  will  follow  on  later  train. 

TAMS  BIXBY.  Governor's  Secretary. 
ST.  PAUL,  MINN.,  Sept.  2,  1894. 

To  FRED  A.  HODGE,  Pine  City,  Minn.: 

What  is  needed?     Answer  quick. 

TAMS  BIXBY,  Governor's  Private  Secretary. 
MINNEAPOLIS,  MINN.,  Sept.  2,  1894. 

To  F:7ED  A.  HODGE,  Rush  City,  Minn.: 

You  have  the  unmeasured  sympathy  of  our  people  in  your  terrible 
affliction.  Will  rush  relief;  hope  to  send  car  of  provisions  in  a  few 
hours.  Do  you  need  any  medical  help.  Wire  for  anything  specific 
you  need  at  once.  W.  H.  EUSTIS,  Mayor. 

ST.  PAUL,  MINN.,  Sept.  2,  1894. 
To  F.  A.  HODGE,  J.  F.  STONE  and  S.  L.  ROBSRT,  Rush  City,  Minn.: 

Your  telegram  received  too  late  or  notice  of  the  calamity  would 
have  been  sent  to  all  the  churches  in  the  city.  Wire  me  at  once  a 
list  of  articles  most  needed  and  will  send  today.  Will  call  meeting  of 
citizens  tomorrow  morning. 

ROBERT  A.  SMITH,  Mayor. 
REV.  WILLIAM  WILKINSON,  DEAR  SIR: 

Your  kind  invitation  to  contribute  some  data  concerning  the  Pine 
county  forest  fires  I  deem  an  honor  far  greater  than  my  ability  to 
fulfill.' 

Living  as  I  did,  thirteen  miles  from  the  immediate  scene  of  the  dis- 
aster, I  can  only  give  you  points  and  facts  that  came  to  my  personal 
knowledge  after  the  event  transpired. 

Pine  City  was  safe.  Safety  is  a  great  thing  in  time  of  danger. 
Danger  is  made  up  of  degrees  that  gradually  increase  until  it  assumes 
the  shape  of  a  gigantic  calamity,  beyond  the  power  of  the  human 
mind  to  understand,  or  physical  ability  to  avert  Such  was  the  char- 
acter of  the  great  Hinckley  fire.  It  is  said  that  "Coming  events  cast 
their  shadows  before.''  This  may  be  true;  it  is  true  in  many  respects. 
It  \vas  true  of  the  Hinckley  fire.  We  read  in  the  Bible  that,  "The 


194 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  195 

elements  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat,  etc.,"  a  prophetic  utterance,  rel- 
ative to  a  general  breaking  up  of  all  things.  It  may  not  be  ap- 
parent to  all,  and  it  may  be  scoffed  at  and  criticised  by  the  ovenvise, 
but  the  fact  nevertheless  remains  that  our  meteoroligical  conditions 
for  the  last  twenty  years  have  been  undergoing  a  gradual,  insidious 
and  dangerous  change.  It  is  fashionable  now,  and  adds  much  to 
our  fancied  security,  to  have  a  convenient  root  house,  or  cyclone 
cellar,  to  flee  to  at  the  first  indication  of  a  rising  storm.  Little  in- 
nocent clouds,  whose  former  office  was  only  to  "drop  the  gentle  rain 
from  heaven  upon  the  place  beneath"  have  learned  such  dangerous 
tricks  of  late,  that  when  they  begin  to  get  bigger  than  a  man's  hand, 
the  people  are  filled  with  apprehension,  and  vague  unrest,  which  con- 
tinues until  the  glad  sunshine  comes  again. 

Formerly  the  seasons  were  tempered  with  a  very  even  distribution 
of  precipitation;  but  now  Dame  Nature  resorts  to  the  curious  and 
unusual  freak  of  emptying  it  all  out  in  a  short  period,  in  the  shape 
of  cloud  bursts  and  spiral  spouts  of  electric  fury.  These  periods  are 
followed  with  severe  drought,  parching  the  earth,  withering  the 
vegetation,  and  preparing  everything  in  first  class  shape  for  the 
flames. 

The  fire  at  Hinckley  was  one  of  the  results  of  causes  which  are 
constantly  increasing  in  power  and  frequency,  and  which  will,  in 
the  near  or  distant  future,  develop  much  more  disastrous  effects. 
This  fire  resulted  in  the  constituent  elements  of  the  air  becoming  dis- 
integrated, separated,  and  leaving  one  element — an  inflamable,  dan- 
gerously explosive  gas,  while  the  other  hung  like  a  dark  pall  over 
the  scene,  shutting  out  the  light  and  rendering  the  chance  for  de- 
struction more  weird  and  complete.  Literally  the  air  was  on  fire, 
exploding  in  flashes. 

Mr.% Eraser,  who  with  his  family  was  caught  in  the  vortex  of  one 
of  these  death  dealing  explosions,  saved  himself  and  family  by  placing 
his  children  in  the  water  barrels  found  on  the  wagon  hitched  to  a 
fleeing  team,  and  saved  his  wife  and  himself  by  keeping  under  a  con- 
stant stream  of  water,  kept  up  by  his  undaunted  heroism  and  bravery 
in  the  face  of  death,  and  presence  of  mind  in  time  of  imminent  and 
fatal  danger.  As  it  was,  all  his  family  suffered  serious  and  perma- 
nent disfigurement  and  injury  from  the  hot  stifling  blasts  from  the 
explosions.  These  gigantic  storms,  this  "melting  of  the  elements 
with  fervent  heat"  in  earlier  ages  of  the  world's  history  produced  our 
primary  drift,  and  in  that  way  have  been  a  wonderful  aid  to  agricul- 


196  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

ture,  civilization  and  commerce;  but  a  change  is  taking  place  which 
we  can  know  if  we  try  to  discern  the  signs  of  the  times;  and  while 
it  is  not  in  our  power  to  avert,  we  can  save  ourselves,  in  many  cases, 
by  fleeing  from  the  wrath  which  is  sure  to  come. 

Time  is  divided  into  periods  and  cycles,  some  of  which  are  con- 
ducive to  human  life,  its  development  and  prosperity;  while  others 
are  equally  powerful  to  destroy.  To  say  we  are  gradually  entering 
such  a  period  now,  would  only  provoke  criticism,  and  lead  the  learned 
to  raise  the  cry  of  "calamity  howler;"  but  cold  facts,  based  on  many 
years  of  careful  calculation,  bear  out  by  unimpeachable  evidence  this 
important  theory.  This  Hinckley  fire  was  one  of  those  unimpeach- 
able witnesses.  Years  ago  ''rocks  fell  to  dust"  and  mountains  melted 
away  before  the  same  supernatural  force,  onlv  manifested  in  a  greater 
degree.  It  is  coming  again.  What  did  Pine  City  do  in  this  awful 
calamity  of  last  September?  Only  her  duty. 

When  suffering  and  stricken  humanity  presents  itself  to  her  more1 
fortunate  fellows,  the  better  instincts  of  the  human  mind  predominate, 
and  we  help  without  ever  thinking  of  the  right  or  wrong.  It  is  done 
unconsciously,  and  from  absolutely  pure  motives.  I  could  tell  yen 
how  the  scorched,  burned,  and  half-suffocated  victims  came  down 
through  the  suffocating  darkness  on  that  fearful  September  night, 
from  that  awful  holocaust,  but  that  has  been  and  will  be  told  in 
your  valuable  book  by  others.  I  sent  the  first  message  over  the 
wires  announcing  the  sad  news  to  the  outside  world,  through  the 
columns  of  the  St.  Paul  Globe  and  Pioneer  Press,  of  which  I  was  the 
local  Pine  City  correspondent.  As  fresh  news  came  in  it  was  sent 
out  until  it  became  apparent  to  the  two  great  dailies  that  a  special 
correspondent  must  be  sent  at  once  to  the  field;  this  was  done.  I 
sent  out  the  messages  to  the  governor  of  the  state  and  to  the  mayors 
of  the  Twin  Cities  when  it  became  obvious  that  our  resources  were 
entirely  insufficient  to  meet  the  necessities  and  pressing  needs  of  the 
victims.  This  was  done  after  taking  counsel  with  the  leading  citizens 
here,  and  deciding  that  such  a  course  was  imperatively  necessary. 

A.  G.  Parkins,  Esq.,  called  a  public  meeting  in  Robinson  Park 
early  Sunday  morning,  September  2nd,  where  the  first  relief  commit- 
tee was  chosen.  This  committee  consisted  of  James  Hurley,  chair- 
man; J.  G.  Breckinridge,  secretary;  Fred  A.  Hodge,  treasurer;  John 
F.  Stone,  Herman  Borchers,  E.  A.  Hough  and  A.  G.  Perkins.  Each 
one  then  was  assigned  a  part,  and  in  the  course  of  two  hours  there- 
after everything  was  moving  like  clock  work.  The  Citizens'  Com- 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  1C 7 

mittee  from  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis,  on  their  arrival  Sunday  night, 
September  2nd,  found  us  in  perfect  organization,  and  the  immediate 
necessities  of  the  sufferers  fairly  well  supplied.  This  committee  con- 
tinued its  good  work  until  all  the  difficult  labor  of  relief  had  been 
met  and  accomplished. 

Early  in  the  week,  Gov.  Nelson  appointed  a  State  Relief  Commis- 
sion, who  visited  our  village,  met  and  conferred  with  us,  appointing 
Secretary  H.  Hart  as  their  executive  officer,  to  whom,  after  a  few 
days  of  joint  work,  the  whole  business  was  turned  over.  Secretary 
Hart  opened  an  office  here,  where  he  continued  the  work  about 
four  weeks,  after  which  he  removed  to  Hinckley  where  he  could  be 
nearer  the  center  of  the  district  needing  their  services.  Up  to  this 
date  the  commission  is  still  in  existence,  doing  much  valuable  work. 

Not  wishing  to  go  into  the  details  for  fear  of  repetitions,  as  no 
doubt  you  have  chronicled  all  the  incidents  which  I  could  relate, 
again  thanking  you,  I  close.  Yours  truly, 

JOHN  F.  STONE. 

MR.  JAMES  HURLEY,  CHAIRMAN  OF  THE  PINE  CITY 
RELIEF  COMMITTEE,  SAYS: 

"I  was  sitting  on  the  steps  at  my  neighbor  Lambert's  at  n  o'clock 
p.  m.,  Saturday,  September  1st.  We  were  talking  about  the  fire — 
there  was  considerable  uneasiness  regarding  it — when  the  marshal, 
J.  E.  Netser,  came  and  said,  "Hinckley  is  all  burned  out,  and  many 
lives  lost."  The  news  was  brought  by  Augus  Hay  and  Carle  Veen- 
hover,  two  residents  who  had  walked  miles  through  smoke  and  fire 
to  a  construction  train  that  was  engaged  in  repairing  a  bridge, 
which  had  brought  them  here,  and  in  a  little  while  all  Pine  City  knew 
what  had  happened  and  was  astir. 

I  went  into  'my  house,  told  my  family  what  had  happened,  got  my 
overcoat  and  went  down  town.  I  met  a  number  of  men  and  women 
at  the  park.  We  called  all  the  young  men  and  boys  present  and  sent 
them  to  every  house,  and  gathered  all  provisions  ready  for  use. 
Within  half  an  hour,  everything  carried  in  this  train  was  at  the  depot, 
and  a  local  doctor  and  two  other  doctors,  had  such  medicines,  drugs, 
liquor,  batting,  bandages  and  all  they  would  be  likely  to  use  in  that 
line,  together.  We  started  with  an  engine  and  two  coaches.  We 
went  through  fire  and  smoke,  and  it  was  a  grand  panorama  to  look 
upon  the  flames  in  the  distance,  eighty  feet  high,  but  dangerous  to 
pass  through.  I  should  judge  seventy-five  men  were  on  the  train. 
On  our  way  we  stopped  three  times  to  take  on  hand  cars  and  push 


198 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  199 

cars,  to  move  the  sick  and  the  dead.  We  got  to  Hinckley  about 
12:30  or  i  a.  m.,  Sunday,  September  2nd.  We  stopped  at  the  junc- 
tion of  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  and  Eastern  Railroad.  Here  we 
found  all  who  were  saved  and  able  to  get  there  from  Hinckley. 
They  had  come  to  the  round  house,  and  were  in  and  near  it.  We 
made  no  records  at  that  time,  there  were  too  many  things  needing 
attention ;  but  I  am  safe  in  saying  there  must  have  been  two  hundred 
people. 

The  doctors  at  once  went  to  the  help  of  the  burned,  and  as  soon  as 
they  could  be  loaded  on  cars  they  were  taken  to  Pine  City,  where  all 
possible  preparations  had  been  made  to  receive  them.  While  the 
doctors  were  treating  the  injured  at  the  round  house,  and  the  others 
were  getting  onto  the  train,  I  with  a  party  of  five  or  six  others  went 
to  the  gravel  pit. 

We  found  Rev.  D.  W.  Lawler,  partially  unconscious.  He  had 
been  brought  from  Grindstone  river,  where  he  had  been  during  the 
fire,  to  the  place  in  which  we  found  him.  He  knew  us  well  before 
the  fire,  but  being  now  totally  blind,  at  first  did  not  understand  who 
we  were.  We  carried  him  to  the  train;  the  others  who  were  with 
him  there,  coming  with  us, — many  being  just  able  to  walk,  and  got 
on  the  train  which  now  left  for  Pine  City.  With  lanterns  all  the  ad- 
jacent places  were  searched  for  the  living  and  dead.  It  was  a  grue- 
some task,  some  of  them  being  baked,  not  yet  cold.  The  train  came 
back  from  Pine  City,  after  leaving  its  load  of  desolate  sorrowful  peo- 
ple there. 

The  Skunk  Lake  relief  party  had  got  back  to  Hinckley  with  all 
they  found  at  that  place.  When  those,  with  all  we  had  found,  were 
loaded,  the  train  again  went  to  Pine  City.  We  came  back  Sunday 
forenoon.  Thus  all  the  living  had  been  looked  after,  this  being 
the  first  imperative  duty.  By  this  time  we  saw  something  of  the 
magnitude  of  the  work  before  us.  The  leading  citizens  met  in  the 
park  and  organized  committees;  the  duties  of  several  were  to  look 
after  the  needs  of  the  living,  and  care  for  the  dead.  Donations  had 
been  made  and  while  all  had  done  their  best,  still  it  was  evident  that 
local  gifts  could  not  supply  every  need,  so  we  ordered  out  of  the 
stores  what  was  necessary  for  present  use.  By  this  time  all  the  con- 
tinent knew  of  the  awful  calamity,  and  telegrams  in  floods  came  in, 
of  sympathy  and  offers  of  help,  all  of  which  were  gratefully  re- 
ceived. 

This  brings  us  to  Sunday,  September  2nd,  at  4  p.  m. 


200 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRE^.  201 
PINE  CITY,  MINN.,  Jan.  12,  1895. 

HON.  H.  H.  HART,  Secretary  State  Fire  Relief  Committee: 

I  hand  you  herewith  a  statement  of  receipts  and  disbursements  of 
the  treasurer  of  the  Pine  City  relief  committee,  as  promised. 
I  will  itemize  a  statement  of  disbursements  if  you  desire. 

Yours  truly, 

F.  A.  HODGE. 

JAMES  HURLEY,  ESQ.,  Chairman  Relief  Committee,  Pine  City: 

I  submit  herewith  a  statement  of  the  funds  I  have  received  and  dis- 
bursed as  treasurer  of  your  committee,  viz.: 

RECEIPTS. 

Citizens  of  Taylor's  Falls $394-6o 

Dr.  Hukins  and  brother,  Iowa 10.00 

A.  L.  Leinman,  White  Bear 5.00 

Rutledge  Lumber  Company IOO.GO 

Employes  of  Rutledge  Lumber  Company I75-C° 

August  J.  Anderson,  Taylors  Falls 50.00 

Milage  of  Rush  City  .  . '. 250.00 

Citizens  of  Stillwatcr 200.00 

Citizens  of  Lindstrom 83.00 

L.  A.  Elbert,  West  Duluth 25.00 

W.  A.  Bend,  from  St.  Paul  committee 500.00 

Milage  of  Harris 100.00 

Citizens  of  Harris   37-75 

P.  H.  Stolberg,  Harris 100.00 

P.  Huntoon,  Stillwater 5.00 

W.  G.  LeCrone,  Faribaiilt 7.00 

Citizens  of  White  Bear 196.17 

A.  P.  Xoyes 2.50 

Rev.  H.  B.  J.  Jansen,  Alexandria 15.00 

George  H.  Cunningham,  Sturgeon  Lake 2=5.00 

A.  H.  Clark * 5.00 

Citizens  of  Xorth  Branch 100.00 

J.  A.  Guthrie i.oo 

Unknown    i.oo 

W.  P.  Broughton,  St.  Paul 25.00 

Unknown,  Cambridge,  X".  Y 5.00 

J.  Leary,  Bald  Eagle i.oo 

P.  E.  Foredine   2.00 

Citizens  of  Wyoming,  Minn 83.00 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  R.  F.  Paxton x. r  oo 

Mrs.  W.  DeHart i.oo 

Sunday  School,  Amora,  111 5.00 

Sunday  School,  Big  Wood !  7-7 

F.  Chimielewski,  Sturgeon  Lake c  co 

J.  F.  Jackson,  account  State  Relief  Commission 77-42 

Total  receipts   $2,599.21 


202  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

Paid  orders  drawn  by  State  Relief  Committee $i,  102.42 

Paid  orders  drawn,  Pine  City  Relief  Commission 1,372.72 

Paid  Kenneth  Clark,  treasurer  of  State  Relief  Commission.       124.07 


Fred  A.  Hodge,  treasurer $2,599.21 

MEMORIAL  SERVICE  FOR  THE  DEAD. 

After  the  fire,  as  soon  as  men  had  time  to  look  over  the  condition 
of  affairs  in  Mille  Lacs,  Carleton  and  Pine  counties,  it  was  felt  that 
there  should  be  one  great  public  service,  in  memory  of  those  who 
had  departed  from  the  life  that  now  is,  and  gone  into  that  which  is 
on  the  other  side  of  death.  Pine  City  being  the  town  nearest  the 
scene  of  disaster  and  most  easily  accessible  at  that  time  by  rail,  it  was 
the  place  selected  for  the  purpose  of  holding  it.  The  result  proved 
the  wisdom  of  the  choice.  September  9th  was  appointed  and  was 
probably  one  of  the  most  memorable  services  ever  held  in  America 
since  the  great  Abraham  Lincoln  was  laid  to  rest.  All  day  the  fires 
near  the  city  had  been  burning;  the  very  photographs  of  horrid  and 
alarming  experiences  endured  a  week  before  were  stamped  upon  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  many  hundreds  of  men,  women  and  children, 
who  were  either  making  Pine  City  their  home  or  had  come  to  the 
service.  They  saw  anew  September  ist,  and  the  sight  brought  tears 
to  their  eyes.  They  heard  again  in  memory  the  voices  now  silent 
and  saw  once  more  the  faces  gone  never  again  to  return. 

To  this  service,  which  had  been  made  known  all  over  the  land 
through  the  public  press,  had  come  from  ail  parts  of  the  state  and 
many  other  states  as  pilgrims  to  a  shrine,  throrgs  of  people,  and  the 
opera  house  was  the  place  to  which  they  wended  their  sorrowful 
way.  All  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  hour,  and  the  words  of 
Christian  hope  fell  on  the  ears  of  the  people,  as  the  gentle  rain  falls 
upon  the  warm  dry  earth,  softening,  refreshing,  blessing  it.  In  two 
solos  the  deep  bass  voice  of  Mr.  Albert  Berg,  who  is  now  secretary  of 
state,  sounded  through  the  hall  like  music  from  another  world. 
Mrs.  Barnum  sang  a  solo,  and  her  soft,  clear  voice,  produced  a  deep 
impression. 

When  Mr.  Knudsen  read  a  list  of  deadr  a  profound  silence  per- 
vaded the  whole  assembly.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Feetham,  Methodist  min- 
ister in  Pine  City,  and  Rev.  Father  Bajec,  priest  of  Rush  City,  spoke 
with  much  feeling.  The  Right  Rev.  Mahlon  X.  Gilbert,  D.  D.,  assist- 
ant bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church  in  the  diocese  of  Min- 


MISXESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  203 

nesota,  had  been  asked  to  give  the  principal  address  All  who  heard 
it  said  nothing  could  have  been  more  tender,  beautiful  or  appropriate. 
The  Rush  City  Post  reports  the  meeting  thus: 

Through  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  J.  D.  Markham  a  number  of  persons 
from  this  place  were  taken  to  Pine  City  in  a  private  coach  Sunday  to 
attend  the  services  which  were  to  be  conducted  in  memory  of  the 
fire  victims.  Owing  to  a  report  that  Pine  City  was  in  danger  of 
being  destroyed  by  the  insatiable  flames,  the  car  which  was  due  to 
leave  at  4  p.  m.,  did  not  start  until  6  o'clock.  By  that  time  the 
greater  number  of  those  who  intended  to  go  decided  to  remain  at 
home.  The  dreadful  report  that  flames  200  feet  high  were  advancing 
rapidly  towards  Pine  City  was  ample  reason  for  their  deciding  not  to 
go. 

The  services  were  to  have  been  held  in  Robinson's  Park,  but  the 
confusion  which  prevailed  during  the  afternoon  made  it  impracticable 
to  conduct  them  at  that  place.  The  committee  wisely  postponed  the 
services  and  made  arrangements  to  have  them  in  Tierney's  hall  in 
the  evening. 

The  scene  at  the  hall  was  a  heartstirring  one.  There  were  those 
present  who  alone  represented  what  remained  of  a  once  happy  family. 
Some  were  still  bandaged;  upon  others  frightful  scars  were  visible, 
and  the  look  on  the  faces  of  many  told  only  too  plainly  the  story 
of  the  loss  of  home,  loved  ones  and  hope.  Sadness  pervaded  the  at- 
mosphere and  a  heavy  feeling  seemed  to  press  on  the  hearts  of  all, 
present. 

The  exercises  opened  with  a  few  remarks  by  Chairman  Mannix, 
who,  in  closing,  presented  Rev.  Knudsen,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
church  at  Hinckley,  who  read  a  selection  from  scripture.  Bishop 
Gilbert  followed  with  an  earnest  prayer  and  then  Airs.  Barnum  sang 
a  solo  with  much  feeling.  Rev.  Knudsen  again  stepped  forward  and 
read  a  list  of  those  of  his  congregation  who  were  dead  and  buried 
and  made  some  comment  upon  the  havoc  caused  by  the  flames.  He 
was  a  fellow  sufferer,  and  believed  the  hand  of  God  was  hidden  be- 
neath the  cloud  of  sorrow. 

By  request  Attorney  S.  G.  L.  Roberts  read  a  poem  composed  by 
Mr.  Tallman  commemorative  of  the  forest  fires. 

Rev.  Feetham  ministered  words  of  courage  and  comfort  to  the  sor- 
rowing and  made  a  point  of  :':e  lesson  that  out  of  all  sorrow  some 
good  is  sure  to  be  derived. 

Father  Bajec  spoke  on  the  subject,  "Is  life  worth  living?"     Among 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


*!5F*hv 


REV.  C.  C.  SALTER,  M.  A. 


MTXXESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  20d 

other  things  he  said,  'When  I  looked  upon  the  cold,  distorted  corpses 
as  they  lay  scattered  upon  the  blackened  ground  and  thought  of  how 
suddenly  fire  had-  taken  them  from  life ;  how  they  had  struggled  for 
a  foothold  upon  p!enty  amidst  hardships  and  discouragements,  and 
ho\v  family  ties  had  been  rent  asunder  and  grief  was  all  there  was 
left,  it  certainly  seemed  that  life  was  not  worth  living.  But,  my 
friends,  there  is  hope  beyond,  and  these  persons  who  are  now  cold  in 
death  were  slowly  preparing  for  an  eternal  home."  He  dwelt  upon 
this  subject  in  a  manner  creditable  to  himself,  and  his  remarks  were 
appreciated  by  the  large  assembly. 

Attorney  Markham  gave  an  account  of  the  expedition  party  which 
searched  the  woods  in  and  about  Pokegama  and  concluded  by  advis- 
ing the  homeless  refugees  to  again  go  to  the  place  where  home  once 
stood  and  build.  Money  should  be  furnished  out  of  that  so  gener- 
ously contributed  and  assistance  would  be  forthcoming  from  all  di- 
rections. His  advice  was  just  what  was  needed,  and  inspired  the 
forlorn  sufferers  with  renewed  hope. 

Albert  Berg,  Republican  candidate  for  secretary  of  state,  was  pres- 
ent and  sang  two  of  his  famous  solos.  His  rich,  powerful,  wonder- 
ful voice  was  indeed  music  to  the  ears  of  those  who  had  heard  naught 
but  sobs  and  distress  during  the  week. 

The  address  of  the  evening  was  delivered  by  Bishop  Gilbert.  The 
bishop  was  thoroughly  impressed  with  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion 
and  seemed  inspired  with  eloquent  emotion.  From  the  Pioneer 
Press  we  quote  the  following,  which  is  a  brief  synopsis  of  his  ad- 
dress : 

"I  stand  before  you  tonight  to  give  voice  to  the  sympathy  which 
swells  up  from  responsive  hearts  over  the  land.  This  little  com- 
munity, before  obscure  and  scarcely  discovered  on  the  map,  has 
for  the  last  week  been  the  nerve  center  for  all  the  world.  Messages 
of  love  and  sympathy  have  come  throbbing  under  leagues  of  ocean 
from  all  parts  of  the  world.  God  must  have  had  some  sublime  ob- 
ject in  bringing  about  this  awful  disaster  did  we  only  read  his  pur- 
pose beneath  the  intensest  of.  suffering.  Let  it  not  be  said  that 
God  has  thus  spoken  out  of  the  whirlwind  and  we  have  not  heard.  I 
know  we  cannot  unravel  all  the  mysteries  of  God.  We  are  often  like 
babes  who  can  only  cry  out  with  pain  and  cannot  understand  the 
cause,  but  then  like  children  we  can  learn  the  lesson  taught  us.  Our 
eyes  fill  with  tears  when  we  recall  the  awful  agony  through  which 
many  of  you  passed  when  the  besom  of  destruction  swept  over  you 


206  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

and  the  black  cloud  of  death  was  illumined  only  by  the  lurid  flames, 
but  I  would  have  you  think  not  of  this,  but  of  those  lost  friends  re- 
gained again  in  a  better  land.  These  calamities  are  all  a  part  of 
God's  plans.  The  great  civil  war  of  thirty  years  ago  is  an  illustration 
of  this,  where  sacrifice  and  suffering  wrought  freedom  and  a  united 
land.  So  it  has  often  been  in  your  own  lives  where  there  has  been 
seeming  loss.  What  is  the  gain?  First,  we  are  taught  that  God 
is  greater  than  all  material  things.  When  we  have  built  up  a  ma- 
terial fortune  and  begun  to  worship  it,  one  sweep  of  divine  justice 
takes  it  away,  reminding  us  that  God  is  more  powerful  than  these 
things;  second,  our  hearts  are  brought  together.  You  have  heard 
of  the  great  strikes  that  agitated  the  country  a  few  weeks  ago,  array- 
ing man  against  man,  threatening  anarchy  and  social  disruption. 
Like  the  finger  of  God  this  calamity  has  come  and  swept  away  all 
distinction  of  rank  and  class.  God  used  this  to  cement  again  the 
bonds  of  fraternity  which  were  being  rent  asunder.  I  stood  last 
Monday  in  the  chamber  of  commerce  at  St.  Paul  and  saw  tears 
moisten  the  cheeks  of  the  men  who  rule  the  finances  of  a  great  city 
as  they  responded  to  the  appeals  made  in  behalf  of  those  stricken 
people.  .  They  did  not  know  these  woodsmen;  they  did  not  know 
these  men  of  toil;  but  their  hearts  were  touched  by  the  sufferings  of 
common  humanity.  God  thus  used  the  grim  surgery  of  fire  to  heal 
the  wound. 

"Again  we  must  not  lose  the  lesson  of  personal  heroism.  When 
we  have  met  these  men  as  we  do  frequently  on  the  train  they  did 
not  look  like  heroes,  but  plain  men,  scarcely  worthy  of  our  notice. 
When  the  trial  came  and  an  awful  death  threatened  hundreds  of  hu- 
man lives,  they  stood  up  in  their  divine  heroism  and  taught  us  a  les- 
son that  beneath  the  humble  garb  is  often  concealed  a  noble  man- 
hood, and  when  we  have  turned  to  dust  the  world  will  still  honor 
the  names  of  Powers,  Best,  Sullivan,  Root,  Campbell  and  Blair. 
Such  heroism  will  cover  a  multitude  of  sins,  and  I  doubt  not  God 
will  blot  out  some  of  their  faults,  for  they  doubtless  had  faults,  and 
remember  that  they  nobly  did  their  duty  in  the  time  of  trial.  The 
trial  seems  hard,  but  what  matter  if  it  makes  you  better?  Look  up 
and  let  the  sacrifice  of  friends  and  loved  ones  make  you  nobler  and 
purer.  Last  of  all,  when  the  grass  has  grown  green  over  their 
graves  and  your  hearts'  wounds  are  somewhat  healed,  let  us  not  for- 
get that  God  came  down  in  a  chariot  of  fire  one  day  as  he  did  for 
Elijah  of  old  to  take  our  better  selves  up  to  himself." 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  207 

The  hymn,  "Our  Great  Redeemer  Praise  Ye,"  written  by  ].  E. 
Moclin,  was  sung  to  music  by  Mozart,  and  so  added  to  the  memorial 
service  for  the  dead. 

STATE  COMMISSION  APPOINTED. 

By  Monday  afternoon,  September  3rd,  all  the  continent  of  America, 
and  the  most  of  Europe  had  heard  of  the  terrible  calamity  which  had 
befallen  the  state  of  Minnesota.  It  was  then  seen  that  the  work  of 
relief  would  have  to  be  taken  in  hand  in  a  large  way,  no  public 
sympathy  left  to  work  at  random  would  meet  the  urgent  needs  of 
the  case.  Gov.  Nelson  consulted  with  some  of  the  wisest  and  best 
men  in  the  state,  and  at  once  appointed  a  commission  who  received 
power  to  ask  for  money  and  to  use  it  as  it  should  be  needed  for  the 
fire  sufferers.  The  relief  proclamation  is  printed  in  the  state  com- 
missioner's report  in  this  book,  so  that  there  is  no  need  to  reproduce 
it  here. 

In  looking  at  the  end  in  view,  the  governor  had  to  keep  in  mind 
the  fact  that  large  sums  of  money  had  to  be  raised  by  the  gifts  of  the 
people  at  large;  that  as  winter  was  near  it  would  have  to  be  spent 
quickly;  so  it  was  absolutely  needful  that  the  men  whom  he  vested 
with  authority,  should  be  men  of  known  uprightness  and  of  known 
ability,  and  also  that  they  should  be  men  in  whom  the  fire  sufferers 
themselves  would  find  kind  friends. 

As  soon  as  the  five  names  were  published  everyone  felt  that  we 
had  a  commission  whose  personal  acts  would  be  above  reproach. 
The  names  are :  Charles  H.  Graves,  of  Duluth ;  Mathew  G.  Norton, 
Winona;  Hastings  H.  Hart,  St.  Paul;  Kenneth  Clark,  St.  Paul; 
Charles  A.  Pillsbury,  Minneapolis.  Mr.  Graves  is  well  known,  par- 
ticularly in  Northern  Minnesota;  he  is  also  well  known  all  through 
the  state,  having  been  'speaker  of  the  house  of  representatives.  He 
had  the  advantage  of  being  in  the  district  where  the  heaviest  part 
of  the  work,  of  dealing  with  the  distressed,  had  necessarily  fallen. 
He  is  a  man  of  high  character  and  good  ability.  Mathew  G.  Norton 
is  respected  and  honored  wherever  known,  by  noble  industry,  pru- 
dence and  honest  business  methods  he  has  won  a  reputation  which  is 
to  be  envied.  H.  H.  Hart  is  secretary  of  the  Board  of  Corrections 
and  Charities,  Minnesota,  and  thus  had  an  experience  which  the 
governor  rightly  thought  would  be  of  much  value  to  the  commission 
in  its  work.  Mr.  Kenneth  Clark  is  president  of  the  Capital  Bank 
in  St.  Paul,  a  Presbyterian  in  religion,  and  interested  in  many  good 
works  in  the  city.  Mr.  Pillsbury  is  head  of  the  greatest  milling  firm 


208  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

on  the  continent.  Pillsbury's  Best  flour  is  known  from  one  end  of 
the  land  to  the  other.  He  is  accustomed  to  large  plans  and  a  royal 
man  is  he. 

These  five  men  were  called  to  their  first  meeting  in  St.  Paul,  Sept. 
5th,  as  the  annexed  letter  shows: 

EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  ST.  PAUL,  MINN.,  Sept.  4,  1894. 

HON.  C.  A.  PILLSBURY,  Minneapolis,  Minn.: 

By  direction  of  the  governor,  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that 
you  are  appointed  as  a  member  of  the  State  Commission  for  relief  of 
Hinckley  fire  sufferers,  authorized  to  receive  contributions  of  money 
and  supplies,  and  to  expend  and  disburse  the  same. 

The  commission  meets  tomorrow  (Wednesday)  at  the  capitol  at  4 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.     Don't  fail  to  be  on  hand. 
Yours  very  respectfully, 

(Signed)     TAMSBIXBY, 
Governor's  Private  Secretary. 

At  this  meeting  Mr.  Pillsbury  was  chosen  chairman,  H.  H.  Hart, 
secretary,  Kenneth  Clark,  treasurer,  and  they  were  made  the  ex- 
ecutive committee  because,  being  the  officers  of  the  commission,  and 
living  in  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis,  they  could  readily  be  called  and 
easily  meet  together.  I  know  the  spirit  in  which  their  work  was 
entered  upon,  and  the  difficulties  they  had  to  meet;  it  is  the  simplest 
truth  to  say  that  no  five  men  ever  entered  upon  a  work  of  love  with 
higher  aims  or  purer  desires.  The  public  will  never  kn9w  all  the 
difficulties  they  had  to  encounter  and  overcome. 

The  fire  had  swept  through  a  new  piece  of  country,  the  people 
left  homeless  and  penniless,  many  of  them  helpless,  from  many  lands 
and  churches.  They  had  had  different  kinds  of  training,  and  they 
differed  greatly  in  personal  character  and  tastes.  The  property  they 
had  before  the  fire  was  held  in  very  many  different  ways.  Some  had 
a  contract  to  buy  and  had  paid  part  of  the  cost,  others  had  bought 
and  had  mortgages  upon  their  houses  and  lands.  Now  the  houses, 
barns,  etc.,  were  all  gone  the  mortgages  were  greater  than  the  value 
of  the  property  left.  In  such  cases  to  rebuild  on  that  land  was  to 
put  money  intended  for  the  fire  sufferers  onto  the  land  which  the 
nominal  owners,  in  all  human  probability,  would  lose  on  foreclosure; 
others  did  not  know  just  how  their  property  did  stand  in  regard  to 
title.  Some  fire  sufferers  were  widows  with  small  children,  some  old 
people  who  had  lost  those  upon  whom  they  depended  for  counsel  and 
help.  To  act  quickly  was  to  be  sure  to  make  very  grave  mistakes; 


M1NXEOSTA  FOREST  FIRZS.  209 

to  stand  still  was  impossible  in  the  circumstances.  It  took  a  little 
time  to  comprehend  the  whole  situation.  To  add  to  all  this  there 
was  a  large  class  whom  the  commission  could  not  effectively  keep, 
who  were  the  well-to-do,  and  had  been,  up  to  the  day  of  the  fire, 
for  years,  in  circumstances  which  to  them  were  affluent. 

The  commission  was  not  an  insurance  society,  it  could  not  place 
such  people  where  they  were  before  the  fire,  in  the  commercial  world, 
yet  it  was  this  very  class,  who  in  all  except  in  the  loss  of  life,  lost 
most.  The  commission  appointed  agents,  as  its  report  shows,  whose 
duty  and  pleasure  it  was  to  find  out  the  exact  facts  in  regard  to  loss 
and  need,  and  the  ability  of  those  who  came  for  help  to  help  them- 
selves, and  each  and  every  case  was  taken  up,  considered  with  care, 
and  assisted  as  it  appeared  wise. 

It  was  soon  found  that  the  most  ready  to  press  claims,  the  most 
clamorous,  were  not  the  most  needy,  nor  had  they,  in  many  cases, 
suffered  the  greatest  injury  by  the  fire.  On  the  contrary,  many  such 
persons  were  the  least  worthy,  and  had  least  ground  for  appeal.  It 
often  happened  that  the  retiring  and  modest,  the  highly  deserving, 
had  to  be  sought  and  helped,  and  made  to  understand  that  accepting 
such  aid  was  not  charity,  but  the  common  help  of  man  to  man  in 
the  day  when  one  suffers  extraordinary  misfortune. 

The  commission  decided  that  they  would  not  build  any  houses 
upon  property  to  which,  those  for  whom  it  was  intended  had  not  a 
perfect  title.  They  engaged  a  competent  lawyer  to  see  that  this  rule 
was  strictly  complied  with.  The  wisdom  of  such  action  is  seen  at 
once;  it  answers  two  purposes.  It  sees  that  the  money  given  by  the 
generous  public  is  not  wasted,  and  that  the  fire  sufferers  had  at  least 
a  home  in  which  to  live;  both  very  desirable  points. 


210 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES 


ANGUS  HAY. 


J.  E.  GEMMEL,  M.  D.,  C.  M. 


Jm   jj|5, 


OLIVE  A.  BROWN. 


FRED  ROBINSON. 


RUSH  CITY. 

THE  reports  printed  below  give  a  good  photograph  of  what  was 
done  with  such  heartiness  by  this  town  and  its  people: 

MISS   OLIVE  A.  BROWX,  DAY  OPERATOR  AT  FIXE  CITY, 
WRITES: 

At  exactly  at  11:30  on  the  night  of  September  ist,  1894,  I  was  sit- 
ting in  the  office  with  Mrs.  James  Root,  wife  of  engineer  Root, 
waiting  for  the  arrival  of  the  south-bound  train,  No.  4,  on  which  train 
Mr.  Root  was  engineer,  when  I  was  paralyzed  to  hear  the  following 
message  sent  from  Pine  City  to  the  dispatcher  in  St.  Paul: 

PINE  CITY,  MINN.,  Sept.  i,  1894. 

To  J.  MICHAELS,  St.  Paul,  Minn.: 

''Hinckley,  Mission  Creek  and  Xo.  4  train  are  all  burned  up,  ex- 
cept the  engine.  The  passengers  on  No.  4  train  are  in  Skunk  Lake, 
about  six  miles  north  of  Hinckley,  and  about  half  the  people  in 
Hinckley  are  dead.  We  want  all  the  assistance  possible.  Notify 
both  doctors  at  Rush  City,  and  any  others  that  can  be  got  here  at 
once." 

After  hearing  this,  I  at  once  started  and  notified  both  doctors. 

There  being  an  extra  freight  train  and  also  a  light  engine  here  at 
that  time,  they  immediately  started  the  light  engine  north,  with  the 
two  doctors  and  six  other  men  to  the  scene  of  action. 

The  citizens  here  then  gathered  together  provisions  sufficient  to 
feed  the  sufferers  for  two  days,  the  supply  including  one  hundred 
and  thirty  gallons  of  milk,  and  loaded  it  on  to  the  relief  train,  which 
was  ready  to  leave  in  less  than  forty-five  minutes  from  the  time  the 
message  was  received.  The  first  relief  train  that  reached  the  sufferers 
was  started  from  Rush  City. 

Altogether,  there  was  sent  from  this  place  about  seven  hundred 
gallons  of  milk  to  the  sufferers  at  Hinckley. 

'  OLIVE  A.  BROWN. 


212  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

MARSHAL  GEORGE  B.  KXIGHT. 

Quite  a  party  from  Rush  City  responded  to  the  telegram  from  Pine 
City,  the  nearest  office  to  the  affected  region.  Shortly  after  receiving 
this  telegram,  which  was  the  first  we  had  heard  of  the  fire,  a  relief 
train  from  the  south  stopped  and  took  aboard  our  delegation,  to- 
gether with  provisions,  blankets  and  such  articles  as  could  be  hur- 
riedly thrown  together,  including  a  carload  of  milk. 

Arriving  at  Pine  City  cwo  hand-cars  were  procured  and  manned, 
the  cars  going  ahead  to  examine  the  track  and  prevent  a  collision 
with  a  relief  train  which  had  previously  started  for  Hinckley  and 
which  was  now  thought  to  be  returning,  the  train  following  slowly. 
In  this  way  Hinckley  was  reached. 

We  began  immediately  to  care  for  the  suffering  and  covered  the 
dead.  It  was  while  ministering  to  the  affliction  of  a  party  of  blinded 
and  exhausted  trainmen  that  the  question  was  heard,  "Has  anybody 
gone  to  Pokegama?"  "Xo.  Why?"  "Our  train  was  wrecked 
there.  The  people  of  Pokegama  are  in  the  cars,  for  God's  sake 
go  up!" 

No  time  was  lost  in  procuring  another  car,  and  a  party  consisting 
of  W.  S.  Chapin,  George  Knight,  Robert  O'Leary,  Gustaf  Lingren, 
Ed.  Parrel  and  Frank  Smith  undertook  the  arduous  task  of  push- 
ing on  over  the  burnt  and  smouldering  road  to  Pokegama. 

One  mile  out  from  Hinckley,  Smith  decided  that  he  had  made  a 
mistake  in  starting  and  endeavored  to  persuade  the  others  to  turn 
back.  Failing  in  this,  he  mournfully  sat  down  on  the  car  and  allowed 
the  remaining  members  of  the  crew  to  pump  him  on  two  miles 
farther.  Three  miles  from  Hinckley  a  long  trestle  over  a  marsh 
or  ravine  had  been  burned,  and  the  only  way  to  proceed  was  to 
carry  the  car  around  the  smoking  ruins.  Here  two  other  rescuers 
stuck,  and  the  party  was  equally  divided  as  to  whether  or  not  they 
should  turn  back.  The  matter,  however,  was  compromised,  the  three 
promising  to  remain  with  the  car  while  Chapin,  Knight  and  O'Leary, 
taking  a  box  of  biscuits  and  a  can  of  milk,  pushed  on  afoot. 

Two  miles  from  the  burnt  trestle  they  found  the  so-called  wreck, 
which  consisted  of  two  passenger  cars  "ditched,"  while  the  engine 
and  one  car  yet  remained  on  the  track.  To  these  cars  part  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Pokegama  had  fled  for  shelter,  and  here  the  rescuers 
found  about  sixty  burned  and  blinded  sufferers.  After  finding  and 
relieving  in  every  possible  way  that  sympathetic  manhood  could  de- 
vise the  sufferings  of  the  unfortunates,  a  party  of  about  sixteen  was 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  213 

organized  and  the  rescuers,  each  bearing  a  child  upon  his  shoulders, 
led  them  back  to  the  trestle  and  the  car.  Rails  and  boards,  which 
the  haste  of  the  fire  had  left  untouched  or  but  partially  burned, 
vvere  collected,  the  car  enlarged  and  the  entire  part}-  placed  thereon. 
All  six  of  the  crew  fell  manfully  to  work,  and,  notwithstanding  that 
in  the  short  distance  of  that  three  miles  the  car  had  to  be  unloaded 
and  lifted  around  burnt  culverts  and  defective  rails  no  less  than  fifteen 
times,  Hinckley  was  soon  reached. 

As  soon  as  the  car  could  be  cleared  of  its  suffering  freight,  it 
\vas  again  headed  for  Brook  Park,  the  same  crew  at  the  handles. 
This  time  none  faltered.  There  were  suffering  fellow  mortals  ahead 
\vhom  they  could  assist;  they  would.  Arriving  at  Brook  Park, 
however,  they  found  but  two,  a  man  and  wife.  The  others  had  been 
reached  and  cared  for  in  some  other  way. 

Taking  these,  they  returned  slowly  to  Hinckley,  being  much  ex- 
hausted, having  worked  twenty  hours  without  sleep. 

Of  the  heroic  and  unselfish  work  of  the  above  Geo.  B.  Knight 
in  keeping  the  party  to  work,  too  much  cannot  be  said.  He  carried 
babies  and  little  children  great  distances  and  the  rescued  said,  "Never 
did  anything  taste  quite  so  good  as  that  can  of  milk. 

John  Powell  was  section  foreman  in  charge  of  crew  of  section  Xo. 
10  of  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  railroad,  who  writes: 

We  passed  a  section  crew  one  mile  south  of  Pine  City,  in  smoke 
so  dense,  and  Xo.  3  following  so  close,  we  dare  not  stop  and  take 
them  on.  Kept  on  until  one  mile  south  of  Brown's  Hill,  which  is 
four  miles  south  of  Mission  Creek.  In  the  cut  there  we  picked  up- 
Section  Foreman  Gustafsoii  and  his  crew ;  and  found  his  wife  and  two 
children,  and  sent  one  man  back  with  them  to  Pine  City,  or  they 
would,  no  doubt,  have  perished.  One-half  mile  beyond  we  found 
a  great  pile  of  logs  burning  close  to  a  bridge  and  removed  them, 
the  men  using  their  clothing  to  protect  themselves  while  at  work. 

Engineer  Jones  took  me  on  the  engine  to  pilot  him,  it  was  so 
dangerous.  The  men  in  the  caboose  wanted  to  turn  back;  it  was 
so  hot  they  lay  down  in  the  bottom  of  the  caboose.  I  told  Jones 
of  this;  but  he  replied  that  it  was  as  safe  to  go  ahead  now  as  to 
turn  back. 

Three  and  one-half  mites  north  of  Brown's  Hill  we  found  Sec- 
tion Foreman  Baumchen,  of  Hinckley,  and  his  crew.  They  were 
in  the  creek  bottom  and  cut  off  by  fire  on  both  sides.  They  fol- 


214  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  215 

lowed  up  the  creek,  coming  in  to  the  railroad  again  at  the  next 
bridge,  where  we  picked  them  up.  One-half  mile  farther  on  we 
found  a  bridge  burned  out. 

Having  charge  of  the  crews,  I  kept  five  or  six  men  with  me,  and 
the  train  went  back  to  Rush  City  for  bridge  timbers,  reaching  there 
at  6:15  p.  m.  and  leaving  at  6:55,  with  four  cars  of  timber  and 
rails — which  they  loaded  themselves. 

They  brought  John  Gillie,  bridge  foreman,  and  his  crew  and 
reached  us  at  eight  p  m.  In  forty  minutes  we  had  that  bridge  "rip 
rapped." 

"While  the  train  was  gone  to  Rush  City  I  sent  four  men  ahead  on 
a  hand  car  to  Mission  Creek.  They  picked  up  a  deer  on  the  track 
that  had  been  smothered,  and  took  it  to  the  people  at  the  Creek, 
who  skinned  it,  and  with  it  and  some  potatoes-  made  their  first  meal. 

"With  the  repaired  bridge  crossed,  we  went  on  within  one-fourth 
of  a  mile  of  Mission  Creek  station,  where  we  found  a  culvert  gone. 
I  rode  on  the  engine,  and  I  can  tell  you  we  did  not  know  when  we 
might  go  into  the  ditch,  it  was  so  very  dark  from  smoke,  fearfully 
hot,  and  we  were  nearly  blinded.  Ties  were  burning  all  along  the 
line,  affording  us  a  little  light  to  see  the  rails,  which  in  places  were 
badly  warped.  While  this  culvert  was  being  repaired  I  took  a  few 
men  and  walked  to  Mission  Creek,  where  we  found  all  the  settlers — • 
thirty-five  to  forty — sheltered  in  a  little  log  house,  the  only  one  left 
in  the  town,  and  brought  them  with  us  to  the  train.  These  were 
the  people  who  were  saved  in  the  potato  patch.  While  waiting  for 
them  to  get  to  the  train,  a  hand  car  from  Hinckley  came  down  with 
Editor  Angus  Hay,  of  the  Hinckley  Enterprise,  and  a  party  in  search 
of  a  physician  for  the  sufferers  at  Hinckley.  We  sent  this  party 
with  others  on  the  train  back  to  Pine  City  at  once. 

Through  Mission  creek  wre  found  the  main  track  all  burned  out 
and  warped  out  of  shape.  I  kept  a  crew  with  me  while  the  train  was 
gone,  and  repaired  passing  track,  then  went  with  them  on  to  Hinck- 
ley, where  we  arrived  at  12:30  that  night. 

At  first  it  seemed  impossible  to  get  through  town,  or  across  the 
bridge.  I  did  not  stop  to  look  in  the  round  house,  or  go  to  the 
gravel  pit;  I  only  thought  of  pushing  on  to  the  other  train  on  our 
own  road,  and  reach  those  people. 

Passenger  Conductor  Buckley,  of  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  No.  3 
limited  train  going  north,  came  back  from  Pine  City  in  charge  of  a 
train  to  take  the  people  back,  having  Conductor  Jim  Sargent  with 
him,  assisting  in  looking  after  supplies,  etc. 


216  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

I  succeeded  in  getting  five  hand  cars  and  a  push  car  over  the 
burned  bridge,  which  was  all  iron  (as  all  the  ties  were  burned  out), 
and  almost  red  hot;  and  we  had,  at  the  south  end,  to  carry  them 
about  five  rods.  At  times  it  seemed  impossible  to  get  across,  the 
heat  was  so  intense,  and  die  bridge  so  long,  with  the  burning  mill 
so  near.  But  Conductor  Buckley,  who  was  there  in  charge,  said: 
''Those  people  are  over  there,  somewhere,  and  we  are  bound  to  get 
to  them." 

I  went  ahead  and  flagged  them  through  on  the  first  hand  car  and 
took  four  men  on  each  car.  We  left  Hinckley  at  2:30  a.  m.  and 
reached  the  burned  No.  4  limited  at  Skunk  lake  at  4:30  a.  m.  We 
found  the  rails  out  in  several  places,  ties  all  burned  and  rails  warped. 

Three  miles  south  of  Hinckley  we  picked  up  a  badly  burned  man, 
whose  clothes  were  nearly  all  burned  off,  only  a  part  of  his  under- 
clothing remained.  The  section  men  gave  him  some  of  their  cloth- 
ing. One-fourth  of  a  mile  from  the  burned  train,  we  found  a  cul- 
vert burned  out,  and  had  to  tramp  around  these  burned  out  places. 
We  had  some  provisions  on  our  car.  Conductors  Buckley,  Sargent 
and  myself  walked  ahead  from  this  last  culvert  to  the  train,  which 
was  all  destroyed.  The  coal  in  the  tender  was  all  afire  when  we 
reached  it.  \Ve  found  Engineer  Jim  Root  in  his  engine  on  the 
deck  (I  mean  the  floor).  He  was  propped  up  and  all  alone.  I  was 
the  first  one  to  see  him  and  said,  "Hello  Jim!  How  do  you  feel?" 
He  answered,  "I  am  poorly."  He  did  not  know  me  for  awhile. 
Conductors  Buckley  and  Sargent  said,  "We  have  a  doctor,  Jim."  We 
now  had  with  us  Dr.  E.  E.  Barnum,  of  Pine  City — brought  him  on 
with  the  train.  Some  one  replied,  "A  doctor  is  no  good,  now!" 
And  we  feared  so,  too. 

By  this  time  the  hand  car  came  on  with  provisions,  which  the 
conductors  distributed  among  the  passengers,  who  looked  pretty 
hard,  I  tell  you!  They  were  along  the  railroad  right  of  way. 

I  pressed  on  north  and  found  Section  Foreman  McXamara,  of 
Hinckley,  whom  I  had  promised  to  look  up.  He  was  so  dazed  as 
to  hardly  realize  what  he  was  about.  When  I  inquired  about  his 
family,  ke  said  he  did  not  know  anything  about  them,  aad  together 
we  went  on  north  in  search  of  them.  Two  miles  further  on  we  found 
three  traveling  men,  one  of  whom  was  so  bewildered  he  did  not 
know  what  to  do.  One  went  north  on  my  car,  which  I  let  go  on, 
while  the  other  two  walked  south  with  us  to  Skunk  lake.  I  stayed 
there  at  Skunk  lake  until  the  arrival  of  the  relief  train  under  Con- 
ductor Roper,  from  the  north.  I  then  went  to  Rutledge  with  Ale- 


M1XXESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  217 

Xamara  and  stayed  until  the  construction  train  came  south,  on  Sun- 
day afternoon  to  Skunk  lake. 

With  nine  men  I  walked  to  Hinckley.  We  found,  I  think,  ten 
bodies  between  the  burned  train  and  Rutledge.  I  saw  none  dead 
at  Skunk  lake. 

From  Hinckley  I  took  the  train  and  arrived  home  at  Rush  City 
Sunday  night  at  midnight,  after  one  of  the  most  awful  experiences 
and  scenes  of  terror  that  men  ever  passed  through. 

What  Dr.  A.  J.  Stowe,  of  Rush  City,  says: 

I  will  give  you  some  of  the  facts  as  I  know  them  in  connection 
with  the  great  fire  in  Hinckley,  September  first.  During  the  after- 
noon of  the  above  date  word  was  received  by  the  mayor  of  Rush 
City,  Mr.  C.  S.  Johnson,  that  Hinckley  was  in  danger  of  burning, 
and  asking  for  as  much  hose  as  the  city  could  spare.  One  thousand 
feet  of  hose  was  accordingly  sent  on  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  Limited, 
which  leaves  here  at  4  p.  m.  We  afterwards  learned  that  the  hose 
never  reached  its  destination  as  the  train  went  no  further  than  Pint 
City. 

We  heard  nothing  further  from  Hinckley  until  about  11  p.  m., 
when  a  message  passed  through  this  office  from  Pine  City  on  its 
way  to  St.  Paul,  saying  that  Hinckley  was  entirely  burned,  and 
probably  most  of  the  people;  that  train  Xo.  4  of  the  St.  Paul  & 
Duluth  Railroad  was  totally  destroyed,  except  the  engine,  and  that 
nearly  all  the  passengers,  as  well  as  the  train  crew,  were  in  Skunk 
lake,  north  of  Hinckley.  The  message  was  sent  by  Mr.  Lobdell, 
who  was  a  passenger  on  the  train,  and  had  succeeded  in  walking  a 
distance  of  sixteen  miles  to  Pine  City. 

The  operator  at  this  place,  Miss  Olive  Brown,  acting  under  orders 
from  the  superintendent  of  the  railway,  came  to  my  house  and  re- 
quested me  to  get  what  assistance  I  could  and  go  to  the  scene  of 
the  calamity.  Dr.  Gemmel  and  myself  had  soon  in  readiness  sur- 
gical instruments  and  supplies  sufficient  to  meet  any  demands  likely 
to  be  made. 

A  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  engine  was  placed  at  our  disposal,  and  no 
less  than  three  hundred  people  gathered  at  the  depot,  many  volun- 
teering their  services,  but  were  not  allowed  to  go,  the  engine  being 
already  crowded,  not  only  by  the  relief  party,  but  it  also  carried 
quantities  of  clothing,  food,  blankets,  etc.,  hastily  gathered  by  will- 
ing hands  and  given  by  generous  hearts.  The  run  to  Pine  City  was 
made  at  a  speed  that  was  very  exciting  to  say  the  least.  There  a 


218  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

long  delay  was  caused  by  the  fact  that  a  train  had  already  gone, 
on  account  of  which  the  railway  company  would  not  permit  our  en- 
gine to  proceed  until  they  returned,  the  wires  all  being  down  above 
Pine  City.  The  party  growing  impatient  at  the  delay,  secured  hand 
cars  and  started  out  in  the  darkness. 

When  two  miles  out  of  Pine  City,  the  burned  district  was  reached 
and  the  progress  somewhat  delayed  V.  smouldering  fires  ahead  which 
were  constantly  mistaken  for  the  rettu  "ng  train.  When  out  about 
eight  miles  the  train  was  finally  met  i,  .d  boarded  by  the  most  of 
our  party,  and  the  work  of  relieving  the  t  jfrering  began. 

The  train  was  loaded  with  all  those  whc  had  saved  themselves  in 
the  gravel  pit  and  round  house,  as  well  as  a  number  from  Mission 
Creek  station,  just  south  of  Hinckley.  I  do  not  know  how  many 
the  train  held,  but  there  must  have  been  at  least  one  hundred  and 
fifty  persons,  all  suffering  from  the  effects  of  heat  and  smoke,  and 
many  from  the  effects  of  severe  burns,  all  blackened  beyond  recog- 
nition. As  yet  nothing  had  been  done  to  speak  of  to  relieve  the 
suffering,  which  was  intense.  Mayor  Johnson,  Dr.  Krogstad,  who 
joined  us  at  Pine  City,  and  myself  returned  with  the  train  to  Pine 
City,  where  a  hospital  was  hastily  improvised  in  the  skating  rink,  ?nd 
the  work  of  washing  up  and  applying  surgical  dressing  began  in 
earnest.  Several  were  so  badly  burned  that  their  lives  were  de- 
spaired of.  No  fewer  than  forty  were  quite  severely  burned  about 
the  hands,  feet  and  head,  and  all  were  suffering  from  pain  in  the 
lungs  and  eyes,  the  effects  of  heat  and  inhaling  the  smoke.  The 
work  steadily  progressed  from  3  a.  m.  until  long  after  daylight, 
before  all  had  received  attention. 

Great  credit  is  due  the  ladies  of  Pine  City  for  their  ready  assist- 
ance during  this  trying  time,  as  well  as  many  from  Rush  City,  who 
came  up  during  the  night  by  train.  More  valuable  than  any  one 
thing  sent  for  the  relief  of  suffering,  was  the  milk  furnished  by  the 
farmers  in  the  vicinity  of  Rush  City,  two  thousand  gallons  of  which 
was  sent  as  fast  as  the  trains  could  be  secured  to  handle  it.  It 
was  indeed  a  God-send  to  the  poor  homeless,  half  famished,  half 
burned  and  totally  despairing  creatures. 

A  staff  of  volunteer  nurses  was  established  at  the  rink  hospital  in 
Pine  City,  and  the  work  of  caring  for  the  injured  continued  until 
relief  came  from  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis,  when  fresh  hands  re- 
lieved those  weary  with  their  arduous  work.  The  most  severely 
burned  were  taken  to  the  hospitals  in  St.  Paul  and  Minnapolis. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  219 

AX  EXCITIXQ  TRIP. 

''But  another  light  than  sunrise 
Aroused  the  bleeping  street, 
For  a  cry  was  heard  at  midnight 
And  the  rush  of  trampling  feet." 

Than  these  no  words  can  better  describe  what  happened  in  Rush 
City  last  Saturday  night,  when  the  news  of  the  awful  disaster  at 
Hinckley  first  reached  the  town.  In  the  early  afternoon  it  was 
kfiown  that  a  serious  fire  threatened  the  neighboring  town,  as  a 
request  had  been  received  by  the  fire  department  for  five  hundred 
feet  of  hose.  This  request  was  promptly  responded  to  and  the 
apparatus  shipped  at  once,  though  it  never  reached  its  destination. 
As  nothing  further  was  heard  during  the  afternoon  and  evening, 
the  fears  of  the  citizens  were  allayed,  and  every  one  was  satisfied 
t.h  '.t  Hirckley  was  safe. 

Shortly  before  midnight,  Miss  Brown,  the  lady  operator  here,  was 
sitting  in  the  depot,  when  suddenly  a  message  came  from  Pine  City, 
giving  in  brief  the  dreadful  tidings  of  the  burning  of  Hinckley,  and 
asking  for  rescue  and  relief  for  the  suffering.  Realizing  the  situa- 
lion  at  once,  Miss  Brown  hurried  out  to  give  the  alarm,  and  in  a 
fe  v  nii  merits  the  shrill  sounds  of  the  mill  whistle  called  the  citi- 
ze-..  together,  while  the  telegraphic  summons  for  help  was  sounded 
along  the  line.  The  message  called  for  doctors  and  supplies,  and 
before  the  fire  alarm  had  ceased  Doctors  Stowe  and  Gemmel  were 
at  the  depot  already  equipped.  A  few  moments  later  they,  with  a 
few  chosen  assistants,  were  in  the  cab  of  an  engine  speeding  rapidly 
to  the  scene  of  the  disaster. 

Those  who  remained  were  formed  into  an  impromptu  relief  com- 
mittee and  busied  themselves  in  preparing  provisions,  clothing  and 
supplies  of  all  kinds  in  readiness  for  the  "special"  coming  from  St. 
Paul.  Nearly  all  the  ladies  in  town  proffered  their  services,  and 
the  scene  at  the  depot  during  the  night  was  one  of  activity  personi- 
fied. In  the  absence  of  definite  news  from  the  scene  of  the  disaster 
the  greatest  anxiety  prevailed,  for  there  were  many  who  had  friends 
and  relatives  in  the  burned  district,  and  it  would  be  safe  to  say  that 
not  an  eye  was  closed  in  Rush  City  during  the  night. 

In  the  meantime  the  "Advance  Guard,"  as  it  might  be  called, 
were  speeding  towards  Pine  City.  Drs.  Stowe  and  Gemmel  with 
Messrs.  J.  D.  Markham,  S.  C.  Johnson,  C.  E.  Elmquist,  Howard 
Folsom  and  others  were  in  the  cab  of  the  engine  and  though  the 


220 


3IWNESOTA  F011EST  FfllES. 


FOREMAN  POWELL. 


MAYOR  JOHNSON,  RUSH  CITY. 


DR.  STOWE. 


C.  C.  FREEMAN. 


AflNNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  221 

ride  was  rough,  the  pace  was  none  too  fast  for  them.  The  en- 
gineer and  fireman  shared  the  anxiety  and  Pine  City  was  speedily 
reached. 

Here  a  vexatious,  though  perhaps  necessary,  delay  occurred.  A 
relief  train  had  been  sent  to  Hinckley  and  was  expected  to  return 
any  moment,  and  it  was  therefore  not  thought  safe  to  send  another 
train  out  through  the  fire  and  smoke  at  that  time.  While  waiting 
the  two  physicians  attended  to  the  injuries  of  some  half  dozen  people 
who  had  been  brought  down  from  Hinckley  and  Mission  Creek, 
and  while  they  were  oerforming  this  duty  the  special  arrived,  bringing 
with  it  not  only  thf  necessary  supplies,  but  Dr.  Krogstadt,  of  North 
Branch,  Dr.  Tictir,  of  Harris,  many  of  the  Rush  City  citizens  and 
several  hand  cars.  The  latter  were  at  once  put  into  service  and 
the  relief  party  started  on  a  wikl  ride  to  Hinckley.  The  first  car 
contained  Drs.  Stowe,  Gemmel,  Krogstadt  and  Messrs.  S.  C.  John- 
son, C.  F.  Jackson,  G.  Smith,  W.  S.  Chapin,  Gust  Lindgren,  Rob- 
ert O'Leary  and  C.  E.  Elmquist.  The  second  car  had  J.  D.  Mark- 
ham,  L.  M.  Gale,  W.  G.  Hopps,  H.  Squires,  Peter  Fngel,  Jos. 
Schmitz,  Fidel  Schir"'tz,  Dr.  Tictin  and  others  of  the  Rus^  City  Re- 
lief Committee. 

Then  comumenced  the  most  exciting  part  of  the  journey  made 
by  the  vanguard  of  the  Rush  City  Relief  Corps.  After  crossing 
Snake  river  there  was  nothing  to  relieve  the  monotony  of  darkness 
but  the  fitful  lights  of  the  lanterns  on  the  car  and  the  occasional  glare 
of  a  burning  stump  or  a  telegraph  pole.  The  way  was  full  of 
danger,  for  the  relief  train  from  Hinckley  might  be  expected  anv 
moment;  the  fire  had  been  raging  on  all  sides  for  many  hours  and 
none  knew  but  yhat  the  track  might  have  been  destroyed.  But 
knowing  of  the  s  iffering  before  then,  there  was  no  thought  of  dan- 
ger amongst  thr  willing  workers  who  manned  the  handcars,  and 
they  plunged  inf>  the  inky  blackness  of  the  night,  through  mingled 
fire  and  smoke,  intent  only  on  giving  relief  to  their  fellow  beings. 

The  scene,  hi  d  there  been  time  to  notice  it,  was  one  of  incom- 
parable grander-.  The  night  was  intensely  dark;  the  smoke  from 
the  forest  fires,  which  had  been  raging  for  days,  was  almost  thick 
enough  to  cut  vith  a  knife,  and  the  lanterns  on  the  cars  only  served 
to  light  for  a  riV>ort  distance  ahead  "the  straight  an:l  narrow  way" 
over  which  thf  pioneers  were  traveling.  It  was  too  dark  to  dis- 
tinguish the  fo-est  on  either  side  of  the  track,  but  with  even-  rod 
traveled  could  be  seen  in  the  distance  "as  through  a  glass  dimly" 
the  light  of  a  turning  pine  tree.  Very  often  the  fire  would  be  seen 


222  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

suspicously  clcse  to  the  track,  and,  to  the  anxious  eyes  of  those 
who  were  in  ai Vance,  appeared  to  be  the  red  light  of  an  approach- 
ing train.  Th~<  the  speed  would  slacken  and  a  flagman  sent  ahead 
to  investigate.  There  were  many  false  alarms  but  in  spite  of  them 
Mission  Creek  ten  miles  from  Pine  City,  was  reached  in  an  in- 
credibly short  space  of  time.  Here  an  unlucky  accident  to  one 
of  the  occuparts  of  the  first  handcar  furnished  the  onl"  ludicrous 
oasis  in  a  wid(  desert  of  misery. 

Soon  after  leaving  Mission  Creek,  the  first  relief  train  was  met 
returning  from  Hinckley  bringing  down  most  of  the  survivors  from 
that  place.  Many  of  these  were  burned  more  or  less  severely  and 
everyone  presented  a  most  terribly  destitute  and  woe-be-gone  ap- 
pearance. After  a  hasty  examination  of  the  sufferers  by  the  medi- 
cal men  it  was  decided  to  return  to  Pine  City,  Drs.  Stowe  and  Krogs- 
tadt  going  back  with  the  train,  while  Drs.  Gemmel  and  TicHn  pushed 
on  with  the  handcar  to  Hinckley  where  there  were  several  still  await- 
ing help.  On  this  handcar  were  also  Messrs.  C.  F.  Jackson,  W. 
G.  Hopps,  R.  O'Leary,  Gust  Lindgren  and  others  from  Ru^h  City. 

On  returning  to  Pine  City  the  relieving  party  found  the  citizens 
ready  to  receive  them,  and  lost  no  time  in  administering  to  the  wants 
of  the  sufferers.  A  hospital  was  hastily  improvised  in  the  skating 
rink  for  the  more  seriously  burned,  and  here  the  medical  men  were 
kept  busy  for  hours  dressing  the  injuries.  The  town  hall  was 
thrown  open  to  the  other  fugitives  and  their  wrants  in  the  way  of 
clothing  and  food  promptly  attended  to.  The  relief  train  for  Rush 
City  had  brought  up  not  only  many  ladies  to  assist  in  the  work,  but 
a  vast  amount  of  clothing  and  provisions.  Among  the  latter  were 
several  hundred  gallons  of  fresh  milk,  and  this  particularly  was  a 
perfect  boon  to  the  sufferers. 

Meanwhile  the  handcar  with  the  two  physicians  and  others  had 
reached  the  ruins  of  Hinckley.  Here  in  the  round  house  of  the 
Eastern  Minnesota,  the  only  building  left  standing  in  the  place,  were 
eight  or  ten  people  all  more  or  less  suffering  from  the  effects  of  the 
fire.  The  principal  trouble  with  them,  however,  was  the  effect  of 
the  smoke  and  fire  on  their  eyes,  and  this  was  relieved  a*  well  as 
possible  by  the  doctors. 

The  early  morning  light  was  just  appearing  when  the  doctors  fin- 
ished their  work  amongst  the  sufferers  in  the  round  house,  and  as 
they  stepped  out  to  view  the  ruins  of  Hinckley,  the  scene  was  one  of 
magnified  horror  and  wide  spread  desolation.  The  coal  in  the  sheds 
where  the  depot  once  stood  was  blazing  fiercely,  while  on  the  other 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  223 

side  of  the  track  and  close  to  the  bridge,  piles  upon  piles  of  lum- 
ber were  burning.  Thick,  dense  clouds  of  black  smoke  filled  the 
air  and  myriads  of  sparks  were  borne  northward  on  thf  morning 
wind.  Looking  northeast  from  the  Eastern  Minnesota  round  house, 
not  a  vestige  could  be  seen  of  what  was,  a  day  before,  a  fair  and 
flourishing  town.  Nothing  but  ashes,  smoke  and  flame  met  the 
eye.  Even  the  very  dust  in  the  streets  was  burnt  by  that  terrible 
fire.  The  horror  deepend  on  closer  inspection.  At  almost  every 
step  through  the  place  one  would  see  some  sight  evidencing  the  aw- 
ful fatality.  The  bodies  of  men,  women  and  children  were  found 
on  even-  side,  mingled  often  in  a  confused  mass  with  dead  animals. 
The  sight  was  one  utterly  impossible  to  describe  or  *magine,  and 
one  which,  once  seen,  could  never  be  forgotten. 

Soon  after  daylight  the  relief  train  again  arrived  from  Pine  City, 
bringing  many  Rush  City  citizens,  plenty  of  food,  milk  and  other 
necessities.  Messrs.  J.  C.  Carlson  and  S.  Abraham  had  charge  of 
the  commissariat,  and  among  others  who  rendered  valuable  assist- 
ance were  David  Bloom  and  W.  F.  Anderson,  all  of  Rush  City. 
Drs.  Clark  and  Francis,  of  White  Bear,  accompanied  the  train,  and 
with  the  two  doctors  already  on  the  spot,  were  in  time  to  meet  the  in- 
jured passengers  who  had  been  on  the  destroyed  limited.  These 
had  been  brought  in  from  Skunk  lake  on  hand  cars  and  were  speed- 
ily transferred  to  the  train.  The  latter  then  started  back  to  Pine 
City  and  whik  the  surgeons  were  dressing  the  wounds  of  the  injured, 
the  laymen  were  supplying  the  poor  unfortunates  with  food  and  other 
necessaries. 

The  arrival  of  the  survivors  was  another  saddening  sight.  Men, 
women  and  children  had  spent  the  night  in  the  dismal  swamp,  shiv- 
ering with  cold  and  shuddering  with  horror  at  the  scene  they  had 
passed  through.  Never  were  people  more  gladly  welcomed  than 
were  the  relief  party  that  reached  there  in  the  early  morning,  and 
warmly  did  they  welcome  the  prospect  of  a  speedy  rescue  from  their 
desperate  condition.  A  relief  train  from  Duluth  arrived  almost  at 
the  same  time  and  while  some  of  the  ill  fated  passengers  elected  to 
return  to  the  Zenith  City,  others  were  placed  on  hand  cars  and,  as 
stated  above,  brought  to  the  relief  train  at  Hinckley. 

By  the  time  this  latter  train  reached  Pine  City  the  wants  of  the 
sufferers  had  been  fairly  well  attended  to,  and  they  all  presented  a 
more  cheerful  appearance.  The  more  severely  hurt  were  taken  to 
the  improvised  hospital,  while  the  others  continued  their  journey  to 
other  points  along  the  line. 

J.  E.  GEMMEL,  M.  D.  CM. 


224 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


RT.  REV.  M.  N.  GILBERT,  D    D. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  F[RES.  225 

Any  seeming  contradictions  between  the  subjoined  account  and 
the  narrations  of  the  calamity  visited  upon  other  portions  of  the 
fire  burned  districts,  will  be  made  perspicuous  in  the  light  of  this 
explanation,  namely: 

Pine  City  is  the  nearest  town  to  Hinckley,  Brown's  Hill  lying  be- 
tween Pine  City  and  Hinckley.  On  September  first,  1894,  there 
was  a  fire  raging  at  Brown's  Hill — entirely  independent  of  the 
Hinckley  fire. 

The  officials  <~>f  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  Railway  thought  the  fire 
at  Brown's  Hi11  had  burned  down  the  telegraph  line,  destroying  com- 
munication with  Hinckley,  therefore  felt  no  anxiety  relative  to  the 
latter  place. 

On  the  Eastern  division  of  the  Great  Northern  railway  a  fire  was 
burning  at  Quamba,  which  is  between  Mora  and  Hinckley.  The 
train  crews  were  all  at  work  the  entire  afternoon,  endeavoring  to  save 
the  culverts  for  the  passage  of  trains  at  Brown's  Hill,  on  the  supposi- 
tion that  Hinckley  was  safe,  as  stated.  And  at  Brown's  Hill  it  was 
not  known  that  Hinckley  was  burned  until  Saturday  night,  when  a 
telegram  was  received  from  Miss  Olive  Brown,  of  Rush  City,  an- 
nouncing the  calamity. 

At  Rush  City  word  was  received  by  wire  by  Miss  Olive  Brown, 
day  operator  at  the  depot  vwho  had  remained  steadily  at  her  post 
all  day,  refusing  to  leave  at  night,  knowing  that  the  country  at  the 
north  was  in  flames,  but  could  get  no  facts),  that  Hinckley  and  Mis- 
sion Creek  were  wiped  out.  It  was  then  nearly  twelve  o'clock  mid- 
night. The  message  asked  for  doctors,  nurses  and  relief  generally. 
Instantly  Miss  Brown  ran  to  Dr.  A.  J.  Stowe,  (railroad  surgeon  at 
Rush  City)  and  to  Dr.  J.  E.  Gemmel;  then,  with  Mrs.  A.  J.  Stowe, 
hurried  from  house  to  house  and  summoned  the  people  to  the  rescue. 
In  an  incredibly  brief  time,  the  physicians  above  mentioned,  the 
mayor,  S.  C.  Johnson,  Attorney  J.  D.  Markham,  Editor  Charles  Elm- 
quist  of  the  Rush  City  Post,  Prof.  L.  M.  Gale  of  the  Rush  City 
schools  and  Howard  Folsom  (now  one  of  the  editors  of  the  Courier 
at  Sandstone)  with  medical  supplies  and  bolts  of  cloth  for  bandages, 
etc.,  at  just  about  midnight,  left  on  an  engine,  as  swiftly  as  steam 
could  carry  them,  for  the  scene  of  distress,  having  first  arranged  for 
a  special  train  of  helpers,  provided  with  tools,  food,  clothing  and  all 
needful  supplies  for  the  stricken  ones  to  follow.  The  bells  were  ring- 
ing, and  the  whistles  blowing  signals  of  distress. 

As  this  engine  party  started  out,  through  dense  smoke  and  burning 
ties,  railroad  men  were  heard  to  say:  "Those  men  are  taking  their 


226  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

lives  in  their  hands,"  as,  of  course,  they  could  not  know  where  they 
might  encounter  a  burned  culvert  or  twisted  rail,  be  ditched  and  meet 
with  sure  death,  owing  to  the  speed  necessary  to  make  in  order  to 
reach  the  sufferers.  They  were  enjoined  to  stay  on  the  engine  and 
not  on  the  tender,  and  they  bound  themselves  together  with  arms 
interwoven,  standing  in  the  small  space  usually  occupied  by  the  fire- 
man, while  the  latter  industriously  piled  the  coal  into  the  furnace. 

They  reached  Pine  City,  ten  miles  distant  from  Rush  City,  in  a  very- 
few  minutes.  From  that  point  they  were  obliged  to  resort  to  hand- 
cars, which  were  soon  manned.  The  physicians  and  most  of  the  oth- 
ers in  the  party,  were  soon  off.  J.  D.  Markham  remained  at  Pine 
City,  helping  in  preparation  for  a  hospital,  and  receptacle  for  sup- 
plies, which  promptly  arrived  from  Rush  City.  The  special  train 
brought  hand  car  tools,  lanterns,  blankets,  bedding,  and  food, — com- 
prising all  the  stock  of  supplies  from  every  hotel,  bakery,  meat  mar- 
ket, most  of  the  private  houses,  and  included  a  car  of  milk  and  ice. 

It  was  loaded  with  an  army  of  determined  helpers  for  any  work; 
among  whom  were  John  C.  Carlson,  cashier  of  Rush  City  Bank ; 
Grant  L.  Smith,  chief  of  the  fire  department;  R.  G.  Rumsberg,  mer- 
chant, Col.  R.  H.  Grant,  of  the  Grant  House ;  C.  F.  Jackson,  railroad 
agent,  T.  W.  Wadlow,  secretary  of  brick  company;  George  B. 
Knight,  city  marshal;  F.  Redlech,  of  Rush  City  Hotel;  J.  F.  Som- 
mers,  merchant;  J.  L.  Murphy,  of  broom  factory;  W.  G.  Hopps, 
photographer;  S.  Abraham,  merchant;  H.  Squires,  meat  market; 
W.  S.  Chapin,  G.  Lundgren,  P.  Schroeder,  W.  Anderson,  P.  Engel, 
Albert  Larson,  F.  Schmitz,  P.  Stenger,  J.  Schmitz,  and  C.  Woods. 

These  men  all  went  manfully  to  work,  either  on  hand  cars,  unload- 
ing supplies,  or  in  other  preparation  for  receiving  sufferers  so  soon  as 
they  should  arrive.] 

The  afternoon's  work  of  the  section  crews  of  Rush  City  demands 
the  highest  commendation,  as  well  as  their  evening  labors  as  ad- 
vanced guards,  under  the  able  management  of  Passenger  Conductor 
John  Buckley,  of  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  Limited  Train  No.  3,  going 
north,  who  left  his  train  at  Pine  City,  and,  with  an  engine  and 
caboose,  and  Section  Foreman  John  Powell,  of  Rush  City,  with  his 
crew,  James  Earhardt,  G.  Ruble  and  others,  accomplished  great  work 
in  getting  to  the  burned  people  and  conveying  them  to  a  place  01 
safety. 

It  was  Conductor  Buckley  who  took  the  first  load  of  rescue:!  to 
Pine  City,  with  J.  Y.  Breckenridge  in  charge,  where  they  were  re- 
ceived by  the  Pine  City  and  Rush  City  contingent  and  carefully  con- 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  227 

veyed — some  on  foot,  others  by  teams — to  the  improvised  hospital. 

To  Dr.  A.  J.  Stowe,  Dr.  J.  E.  Gemmel,  S.  C.  Johnson  and  J.  D. 
Markham  belongs  unstinted  praise  for  the  tender  care  and  attention 
given  the  unfortunates  in  the  hospital,  in  assisting  in  dressing  the 
wounds  of  these  people  during  that  dreadful  night.  Dr.  Stowe  and 
Mayor  Johnson  remained  true  to  the  last.  Later,  both  went  to 
Hinckley  to  render  additional  service. 

At  this  time  another  resident  of  Rush  City — George  H.  Markham 
— was  surrounded  by  fire  near  Mora,  but  succeeded  in  reaching  that 
place,  and  assisted  in  receiving  and  caring  for  the  people  of  Pokega- 
ma  (Brook  Park)  as  they  were  brought  in,  going  early  to  Mora  in 
order  to  do  all  he  could  for  the  unfortunates.  He  is  largely  interested 
in  that  place. 

Rush  City  and  all  the  railroad  people  are  justly  proud  of  the  noble 
work  of  their  day  operator,  Miss  Browrn  (whose  portrait  is  here  rep- 
resented), as  she  was  first  to  communicate  the  news  to  the  physicians 
and  other  residents.  She  remained  at  the  instrument  the  entire  night 
of  the  ist  of  September,  besides  a  part  of  the  previous  night,  having 
temporarily  assumed  the  night  man's  duties  in  addition  to  her  own, 
to  allow  him  a  couple  days'  vacation.  She  continued  at  her  place  all 
clay  Monday,  until  finally  absolutely  dragged  by  the  citizens  from  her 
post  and  sent  to  take  much  needed  rest.  This  she  tried  toward  even- 
ing on  Monday,  but  sleep  was  nothing  to  her,  and  after  a  brief  rest, 
she  resumed  her  position  at  the  key,  remaining  until,  some  time  dur- 
ing the  following  night,  when  she  was  forced  to  leave  for  rest  and 
sleep.  Through  it  all  she  thought  of  but  one  thing — relief  for  the 
poor  victims  of  the  fire,  sending  all  the  words  of  comfort  "or  sad 
news  obtainable. 

In  addition  to  all  this,  there  were  two  and  three  heavily  loaded  pas- 
senger trains  at  the  depot  for  from  48  to  60  hours,  with  passengers 
sending  and  receiving  messages  to  and  from  all  parts  of  the  world, 
all  of  which  work  she  performed,  with  never  a  frown  or  unkind  re- 
mark. Many  a  passenger  will  remember  her,  while  reading  these 
lines.  Some  of  the  noble  heroes  of  the  fire  have  been  lionized,  and 
made  recipients  of  medals  and  various  testimonials.  This  heroine 
worked  bravely  in  the  performance  of  her  whole  duty,  modestly  and 
gladly,  with  no  thought  of  reward ;  yet  who  is  more  highly  deserving 
of  recognition  than  she?  On  whom  could  a  testimonial  be  more  ap- 
propriately bestowed? 

At  a  meeting  of  the  council  and  citizens  of  Rush  City  on  Monday 
forenoon,  a  relief  committee  was  appointed,  composed  of  Hon.  F.  S. 


228 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


P.  B.  WINSTON. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  229 

Christensen,  J.  D.  Markham  and  R.  H.  Grant.  Two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  were  immediately  voted  by  the  council  and  the  com- 
mittee, and  turned  over  to  the  relief  committee  at  Pine  City.  Besides 
this,  a  car  load  of  milk  was  sent  daily  for  several  days. 

Mr.  Robert  Xessel,  a  farmer  adjoining  Rush  City,  hauled  a  load 
of  sheep  and  calves  to  Pine  City  as  food  for  the  sufferers,  mention 
of  which  has  not  heretofore  been  made. 

Some  of  the  most  laudable  contributions  were  those  made  by  small 
farmers  from  the  "sand  barrens''  of  Wisconsin — a  section  in  Burnett 
and  Polk  counties  in  that  state — lying  east  of  Rush  City,  where  the 
farmers  are  all  poor,  and  have  been  struggling,  as  new  settlers, 
against  drouth  and  other  misfortunes  for  two  or  three  years.  But 
in  their  poverty,  in  this  calamity,  they  hurried  across  the  St.  Croix 
river,  with  magnanimous  contributions  to  the  relief  committee  of 
Rush  City,  of  potatoes,  wheat,  oats,  rye,  flour,  butter,  new  home 
knit  stockings,  pillows,  clothing,  etc.  As  these  contributions  were 
indeed  like  the  widow's  mite,  far  larger  proportionately  than  those 
from  the  great  cities,  the  donors'  names  should  be  inscribed  on  the 
banner  of  worthy  and  perpetual  record,  although  not  thought  of 
by  themselves.  They  arc: 

N.  Weyberg,  S.  Monson,  X.  Monson,  A.  S.  Freedland,  A.  Erick- 
son  and  C.  Anderson,  of  Alstad,  Burnett  county,  Wisconsin;  and 
O.  Anderson,  Olaf  Anderson,  G.  Olson,  K.  E.  Nordstrom,  C.  A. 
Nordstrom,  O.  Carlson,  N.  Nelson,  L.  Norvall,  J.  Anderson,  J.  Bay- 
man  and  P.  Martinson,  of  Sterling,  Polk  county,  Wisconsin,  and  A. 
Larson,  free  ferryage  over  the  St.  Croix  river.  These  goods,  with 
suitable  acknowledgment,  were  received  and  sent  by  Mayor  John- 
son to  Rev.  William  Wilkinson,  who  made  distribution,  we  are  in- 
formed, among  friends  of  some  of  these  contributors. 

J.  D.  Markham,  of  Rush  City,  spent  his  time  almost  exclusively  for 
about  six  weeks  in  the  burned  district,  in  the  work  of  relief,  and,  at 
the  request  of  the  St.  Paul  committee,  and  its  representative  of  the 
governor — Mr.  Harris  Richardson,  made  one  of  the  general  relief 
committee,  and  member  of  the  finance  committee,  of  which  Hon. 
James  Hurley  was  chairman,  and  Hon.  F.  A.  Hodge  treasurer. 

Mr.  Markham  organized  the  expedition  to  Pokegama  (Brook 
Park),  where  he  had  interest  as  one  of  the  owners  of  the  town,  and 
several  thousand  acres  of  land,  on  which  the  famous  hand  car  trip 
of  the  nine  men  went  from  Hinckley,  where  Rev.  William  Wilkinson, 
as  Mayor  Eustis'  emissary,  was  conspicuous  by  his  good  works,  ref- 
erence to  which  is  made  elsewhere. 


230  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

Of  this  band  of  noble  men,  it  can  be  truthfully  said  that  no  more 
conscientious,  noble  thoughts,  or  better  and  unselfish  purposes  ever 
actuated  men  to  press  on  to  the  relief  of  distressed  humanity.  They 
knew  not  retreat,  although  at  times  they  seemed  vanquished.  They 
all  were  unused  to  the  average  hardships.  What  think  you,  then, 
of  them,  when  I  say  that  these  men  comprised  two  ministers, — the 
Rev.  William  Wilkinson  and  the  Rev.  C.  B.  Fosbroke,  two  physi- 
cians—Dr.  H.  B.  Allen  and  Dr.  C.  W.  Higgins,  Lawyer  J.  D.  Mark- 
ham,  Banker  B.  J.  Kelsey,  Merchant  A.  Berg;  a  Brook  Park  victim 
of  fire,  W.  W.  Brennan,  a  farmer  of  the  same  place  (saved,  but  lost 
his  only  son),  and  Engineer  M.  Thompson,  of  New  Brighton. 

At  3:46  on  the  afternoon  of  September  ist,  the  following  Rush 
City  men  left  that  place,  with  orders  to  run  wild,  regardless  of  Xos. 
3  and  4  Limited  trains,  and  take  their  crews  to  the  fire  district: 

Section  Foreman  John  Powell  (whose  portrait  appears  in  this  book) 
with  his  crew,  T.  Carroll,  J.  Earhart  and  G.  Rhodes;  Section  Fore- 
man B.  Farrell,  with  his  sons  Ed.  and  James,  and  Ed.  Fisk,  with 
engine  and  caboose,  Conductor  Riley  and  Engineer  Jones,  of  Xo.  9. 
Xo.  3  followed  close  behind,  under  Conductor  John  Buckley,  taking 
the  fire  hose  of  the  Rush  City  fire  department,  to  use,  if  possible,  at 
Hinckley. 

The  ladies  from  Rush  City  went  to  Pine  City  to  assist  in  nursing 
the  sick,  the  burned,  etc.,  among  whom  were  Airs.  Lou  A.  White, 
Mrs.  Mary  A.  Johnson,  Mrs.  Frank  Rogers,  and  Miss  Ellen  Lind- 
mark,  each  of  whom  rendered  good  service,  especially  Airs.  White. 
They  went  in  charge  of  Rev.  Wilkinson.  Several  families  of  Rush 
City  took  in  and  cared  for  a  number  of  the  unfortunates;  among 
them  being  Martell  and  Johnson,  Dr.  Stowe,  J.  D.  Markham,  Joseph 
McLaughlin  and  Mr.  Flynn;  while  Mesdames  Christensen,  Carlson, 
Martell,  Johnson,  Gemmel,  Redlich,  Rogers,  Stowe,  Wadlow  and 
Markham,  clothed,  sewed  for  and  helped  dress  not  a  few.  The 
earnest  labors  of  Drs.  Stowe  and  Gemmel  for  days, — all  free  of  charge 
to  the  relief  committee — called  forth  the  highest  praise  from  that 
body,  and  special  resolutions  of  thanks. 

|  By  reference  to  the  report  of  the  general  relief  committee,  notice 
will  be  found  of  the  action  of  the  firm  of  Kelsey,  Markham  &  Co., 
who  were  the  owners  and  proprietors  of  Brook  Park,  in  giving  to 
each  burned  out  settler,  a  warranty  deed  of  two  acres  of  land,  and  ex- 
tending all  payments  until  Xovember,  1895. 

In  the  burned  district  were  several  members  of  Jasper  Lodge,  XTo. 
164,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  Rush  City.  Col.  John  F.  Stone,  of  Pine  City, 


A  FOREST  FIRES.  231 

worshipful  master,  and  J.  D.  Markham,  secretary.  Through  the 
prompt  action  of  this  lodge  and  the  efforts  of  its  worshipful  master 
and  secretary,  all  brothers  were  helped  immediately,  whether  its  mem- 
bers or  not;  and  from  among  its  own  people,  these  brothers  and 
their  families  received  assistance  amounting  to  about  six  hundred 
dollars.  One  member  of  the  order,  Air.  Paul  Schlans,  of  Zion  Lodge 
Xo.  55,  of  Taylors  Falls,  Wisconsin,  was  burned  up. 

Judge  Calvin  L.  Brown,  of  Morris,  Minn.,  most  worshipful  grand 
master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Minnesota,  in  his  address  at  the  re- 
cent session  of  the  Grand  Lodge  at  St.  Paul,  said: 

"One  of  the  greatest  calamities  that  ever  befell  the  people  of 
Hinckley  last  summer,  the  great  forest  fire  which  swept  over  the 
northern  part  of  our  state,  and  laid  waste  so  much  property,  and 
sent  so  many  souls  to  their  final  account,  is  unparalleled  in  history7. 
It  is  indescribable,  for  those  who  witnessed  it  tell  us  that  the  printed 
reports  but  feebly  picture  its  enormity. 

"Xo  subordinate  lodge  was  situated  at  Hinckley,  but  some  mem- 
bers of  the  fraternity  resided  there  who  lost  all  their  property,  and 
barely  escaped  with  their  lives.  Most  of  them  were  members  of 
lodges  in  this  state.  They  were  all  in  need  of  assistance,  and  the 
members  of  Jasper  Lodge,  of  Rush  City,  came  promptly  to  their 
rescue,  and  with  money  and  kind  hands,  relieved  them,  so  far  as 
money  and  kindness  could.  :  :  Some  voluntary  contributions 

were  made,  and  the  lodge  and  brethren  of  Rush  City  did  the  rest. 
Jasper  Lodge  is  not  a  wealthy  one,  but  on  that  occasion  the  mem- 
bers thereof  did  their  whole  duty  and  work. 

"Whether  they  ask  this  Grand  Lodge  to  reimburse  them  or  not, 
they  are  entitled  to  its  favorable  consideration,  and  I  recommend 
that  some  action  be  taken  in  their  behalf." 

This  lodge  declined  to  ask  the  Grand  Lodge  to  reimburse  it,  as 
above  recommended.  The  following  resolution  was  unanimously 
adopted : 

"Resolved  That  the  thanks  of  this  Grand  Lodge  are  due  and  are 
hereby  tendered  to  Jasper  Lodge  Xo.  164  of  Rush  City,  for  the  grand 
display  made  by  them  of  the  true  principles  of  Masonic  charity,  dur- 
ing the  great  forest  conflagration  which  visited  this  state  during  the 
past  year;  contributing  as  they  did  so  liberally  of  their  means,  to 
the  relief  of  those  who  suffered  thereby,  without  expectation  of 
returns  or  request  for  reimbursement/' 

We  can  only  add  this,  our  testimonial,  to  the  joy  which  fills  the 


232  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.^ 

hearts  of  those  who  know  that  "it  IE  more  blessed  to  give  than  to 
receive." 

Great  credit  is  due  Superintendent  Ed  Brown  of  St.  Paul  &  Duluth 
Railway  Company  for  assistance  to  the  company  in  repairs  on  the 
railway,  etc.,  with  Assistant  General  Manager  L.  S.  Miller. 


DTTLtTTH. 

T  HE  first  intimation  the  people  of  Duluth  had  of  the  horrible  holo- 
caust impending  on  the  fateful  afternoon  of  September  ist,  was 
by  the  thickening  volumes  of  smoke  whirled  through  the  air  by  a 
freshening  southwest  wind.  This  smoke  became  so  dense  by  4  p.  m. 
that  in  office  buildings  lights  had  to  be  turned  on  for  the  ordinary 
transaction  of  business;  and  when  rumors,  more  or  less  ominous, 
began  to  circulate,  due  to  ill-concealed  anxiety  in  railroad  circles, 
business  became  suspended;  people  flocked  into  the  streets,  into 
hotel  lobbies,  or  swarmed  about  telegraph  offices,  not  knowing  and 
scarcely  daring  to  ask,  What  was  coming  next.  Later,  when  a  dis- 
patch was  received  to  the  effect  that  the  forests  around  Hinckley 
were  on  fire,  and  that  the  down  '"passenger"  from  Duluth  was  lost 
in  a  sea  of  flame,  the  community  became  fairly  wild  with  excitement. 
This  excitement  was  "frozen,"  so  to  speak,  into  a  sort  of  terror  later 
on;  for  as  the  sun  went  down,  the  great  whirlwinds  of  flame,  though 
none  nearer  than  fifty  miles,  lit  up  the  smoky  sky  with  an  effect 
so  strange  and  awful,  that  an  oppressive  feeling  of  gruesome  appre- 
hension took  possession  of  nearly  everyone.  The  sky  did  not  light 
up  from  one  direction,  nor  with  a  bright  light,  but  suddenly,  even  as 
one  looked,  the  whole  vault  of  Heaven  became  a  glowing  furnace  of 
a  dull  ruddy  color,  and  with  the  appearance  of  the  most  intense  heat. 
The  phenomenon  came  so  suddenly  and  wore' an  aspect  so  threaten- 
ing, that  it  was  felt  as  a  sort  of  shock,  well  calculated  to  set  common 
intelligence  at  defiance.  If  one  could  have  been  divested  of  the  no-  "• 
tion  that  life  would  be  impossible  under  conditions  necessary  for 
such  an  observation,  it  could  readily  have  been  conceived  that  our 
planet  had  suddenly  found  itself  dashed  against  the  atmosphere  of 
a  glowing  sun,  for  in  every  direction  the  air  seemed  a  vast  mass  of 
molten  metal,  threatening  universal  destruction. 

The  message  alluded  to  above  was  picked  from  the  wires  at  the 
St.  Paul  &  Duluth  office  about  6  p,  m.  It  proved  to  be  from  A.  L. 
Thompson,  operator  at  Miller,  and  was  as  follows: 


234  MINNESOTA  FOREST  PIPES. 


RAY  LEWIS,  MAYOR,  DULUTH. 


MINNESOTA   FOREST  FIRES.  235 

"Xo.  4"  (the  down  'passenger'  from  Duluth)  burned  up — Sullivan 
— for  God's  sake  send  relief." — After  which  the  instrument  be- 
came ominously  silent  This  meant  that  the  wires  were  clown  or 
that  the  operator  had  been  compelled  to*  flee  for  his  life,  and  there 
was  too  much  probability  that  both  had  been  the  case. 

Orders  were  immediately  telegraphed  to  all  down  trains  to  be 
side-tracked,  and  the  "Short  Line"  arriving  at  6:15  was  held  for 
the  emergency.  General  Yardmaster  D.  E.  Williams,  of  the  St. 
Paul  &  Duluth,  made  the  train  up  as  quickly  as  possible  on  its  ar- 
rival, and  \\ith  a  relief  corps,  consisting  of  General  Agent  C.  M. 
Vance  and  Doctors  Magie,  Codding,  McGormick  and  Gilbert,  with 
some  representatives  of  the  press,  and  others,  it  left  the  depot  at  7:05. 
Medicines,  surgical  instruments,  blankets,  refreshments,  and  every- 
thing that  could  be  thought  of  and  scraped  together  in  so  short  a 
time,  for  the  alleviation  of  such  suffering  as  was  anticipated  had  been 
hastily  provided.  Previous  to  starting,  Williams  had  found  a  "way- 
freight,"  under  Conductor  Roper,  side-tracked  at  Willow  River,  and 
had  "wired"  him  to  take  engine,  caboose  and  some  box  cars,  and 
'"flag"  his  way  to  the  relief  of  Xo.  4  passenger.  "Hurry  for  God's 
sake,"  the  dispatch  reads,  '''"Miller  reports  them  burned  up."  The  re- 
lief train  reached  Willow  river  without  incident  or  impediment  wor- 
thy of  note,  except  the  inconvenience  and  discomfort  of  the  con- 
stantly increasing  density  of  smoke  and  cinders.  There  they  found 
Roper.  He  had  made  two  attempts  to  reach  the  wreck  of  the  "pas- 
senger," but  had  not  been  able  to  go  much  beyond  Miller,  owing  to 
the  burned  culverts  and  trestles  past  that  point.  He  had,  however, 
been  so  far  fortunate  that  he  had  been  the  means  of  saving  some 
lives, — among  them,  a  woman  he  had  dragged  from  the  water  near 
a  burned  culvert,  beyond  Miller.  She  was  holding  her  baby  with  out- 
stretched arms  to  save  it  from  drowning  when  found,  and  both 
finally  recovered.  He  had  also  been  the  means  of  furnishing  shelter 
and  the  promise  of  safety  to  the  many  refugees  who  were  coming 
constantly,  among  whom  was  Conductor  Sullivan,  who  had  escaped, 
somehow,  from  the  ill-fated  train.  R.  M.  Bell,  superintendent  of  the 
union  depot  at  Duluth,  with  his  fifteen-year-old  daughter,  was  also 
among  these.  They  had  left  the  train  when  it  was  all  ablaze  and  ran 
along  the  track,  keeping  together,  until  exhausted,  then  by  crawl- 
ing and  running  alternately — Bell  sometimes  carrying  the  girl — they 
had  somehow  escaped  the  swoop  of  the  flames.  But  these  people 


236  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

were  so  completely  exhausted  by  heat,  blinded  by  smoke  and  un- 
nerved by  the  terrible  experiences  they  had  gone  through,  that  they 
were  entirely  unfitted  to  give  any  connected  account  of  what  had 
happened.  For  instance,  Conductor  Sullivan  was  completely  blind- 
ed by  heat  and  smoke,  and  was  suffering  such  excrutiating  agony 
from  his  eyes,  that  it  was  thought  he  would  go>  insane.  Bell,  when 
asked  by  Williams  what  the  conditions  were  at  the  wreck,  could  not 
give  the  faintest  ray  of  hope.  He  said,  simply,  that  "everything  was 
burned,  and  everybody  dead,"  and  he  would  advise  none  to  go  fur- 
ther, as  they  "surely  would  be  burned  too."  But  the  very  hopeless- 
ness of  the  case  seems  to  have  stimulated  Williams  to  greater  efforts, 
for  he  was  determined  to  go  until  he  found  "Xo.  4."  A  hurried 
consultation  was  held,  with  the  result  that  the  refugees  from  Rut- 
ledge,  Finlayson  and  Miller,  were  transferred  to  the  relief  train  and 
sent  back  to  Duluth,  in  charge  of  Mr.  Vance,  and  Doctors  Mc- 
Cormick  and  Gilbert;  while  Williams  and  Doctors  Magie  and  Cod- 
ding took  Ropers  train  for  "the  front,"  that  conductor,  with  Kelly, 
the  engineer,  and  crew,  being  ready  and  willing,  though  their  loco- 
motive and  cars  were  liter-ally  blistered  with  heat,  to  dive  for  the  third 
time  into  the  maelstrom  of  smoke,  cinders  and  fire. 

Beyond  Miller  it  was  impossible  to  proceed  by  train,  so  Williams, 
Roper  and  the  two  doctors  took  a  hand-car  at  that  place,  transfer- 
ring to  it  such  supplies  as  it  would  carry,  and  pushed  forward.  They 
'had  literally  to  feel  their  way  as  they  proceeded,  and  where  the 
woodwork  of  culverts  and  bridges  had  burned  away,  leaving  the 
track  a  skeleton,  they  had  to  scramble  through  on  foot,  and  push  the 
car  along  as  best  they  could.  To  prevent  the  inhaling  of  smoke  they 
had  adopted  the  expedient  of  tying  saturated  handkerchiefs  over 
mouths,  nostrils,  and  as  much  as  possible  over  the  eyes.  The  glare 
of  the  conflagration  through  the  smoke  is  described  as  an  awful 
sight,  and  magnificent,  when  the  smoke  would  lift  sufficiently,  as  it 
did  at  times,  to  reveal  panoramas  of  blazing  forests  and  groups  of 
trees,  everyone  of  which  was  a  pillar  of  fire.  But,  as  may  be 
imagined,  there  was  but  little  time  or  inclination  felt  by  the  party 
for  admiration  of  the  scenic  effects;  it  was  only  a  vivid  presenta- 
tion at  best  of  the  horror  of  the  situation,  and  they  were  too  often 
reminded  of  the  ghastly  part  these  vistas  of  merciless  flames  had 
played  in  the  great  tragedy  of  life.  Eighteen  dead  bodies,  all  burned 
beyond  recognition,  had  been  removed  from  the  track,  or  found  be- 
side it,  when  at  midnight  the  little  party  reached  the  smouldering 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIR5S.  237 

wreck  of  the  burned  train  at  Skunk  Lake.  The  coaches  were  simply 
a  mass  of  smoking  debris;  the  coal  in  the  locomotive  tender  was  still 
burning  quietly,  but  as  no  living  being  put  in  an  appearance,  and 
everything  was  still  as  death,  the  terrible  conviction  was  forced  upon 
them  that  all  their  efforts  had  been  in  vain;  that  not  a  soul  was  left 
alive.  As  Williams  puts  it  in  the  general  railway  mainner  of  speech, 
"We  thought  all  were  killed." 

Not  knowing  what  to  do  next,  it  occurred  to  them  all  at  once  to 
shout  for  the  benefit  of  any  or  everyone  that  might  by  some  stretch 
of  possibility  be  left  alive  and  within  hearing.  It  is  not  worth  while 
to  try  to  express  in  words  the  joyful  astonishment  of  our  gallant 
little  party  of  rescuers  as  a  great  chorus  of  voices,  from  somewhere  in 
the  neighborhood,  came  in  quick  response  to  their  "Halloos." 
Amidst  exclamations  of  astonishment  and  delight,  amidst  wonder 
and  tears,  the  marvelous  story  of  heroic  men  and  noble  women,  and 
the  saving  of  a  train-load  of  lives  by  means  of  an  insignificant  bog- 
hole  was  soon  told. 

It  is  impossible  to  be  niggardly  in  the  bestowal  of  praise  o<n  Yard- 
master  David  E.  Williams,  in  connection  with  this  first  relief  ex- 
pedition, ais  well  as  in  subsequent  efforts  for  the  rescue  and  relief 
of  the  sufferers,  wh'le  too  much  cannot  be  said  of  Roper  and  his  gal- 
lant crew,  of  Doctors  Magie  and  Godding,  who,  simply  as  volunteers, 
insisted  on  sharing  in  every  lalbor  as  well  as  danger;  it  remains  to 
be  particularly  said  of  Williams,  that  in  an  extremely  trying  situation 
he  had  kept  his  head  remarkably  cool  and  clear,  anticipating  con- 
tingencies and  preparing  for  emergencies,  from  the  dispatching  and 
side-tracking  of  trains,  to  the  ordering  of  rations  for  the  hungry. 
At  Skunk  Lake  he  took  in  the  situation  rapidly  with  a  view  to  the 
necessities  of  the  case,  left  the  two  doctors  with  the  supplies  to  care 
for  the  wounded  and  suffering,  while  he  and  Roper  took  the  hand- 
car back  to  Miller,  promising  to  have  a  relief  train-  ready  to  take 
them  all  out  by  daylight.  At  Miller  he  set  every  available  individ- 
ual to  work  on  the  repairs  or  rebuilding  of  burned  culverts  and 
bridges,  not  forgetting  the  while  to  send  such  supplies  as  he  could 
by  han-dcar  back  to  Skunk  Lake.  It  is  said  of  him  that  he  stayed 
at  the  front  until  through  connections  were  made  with  St.  Paul, 
and  that  h6  did  not  sleep  for  70  consecutive  hours.  Be  this  as  it 
may,  he  was  certainly  the  first  to  relieve  the  people  of  Duluth,  at 
least  in  part,  from  a  continual  nightmare  of  horrors,  by  sending  from 
Rutledge  at  about  2  a.  m.  the  following  cheerful  dispatch: 


238  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


E.  C.  GRIDLEY. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  239 

"Have  been  to  wreck  with  handcar — could  only  get  to  Miller  by 
train.  Wreck  is  one  and  one-half  miles  south  of  Sandstone  and  all 
burned  up — passengers  all  right  but  exhausted — they  are  in  a  marsh 
— we  go  with  timber  to  build  bridge — tell  everyone  all  are  alive 
and  well  as  can  be  expected — will  arrive  in  Duluth  at  9  a.  m." 

While  this  dispatch  was  being  circulated  at  Duluth  and  working 
like  magic  in  awakening  her  people  from  a  feeling  of  complete  help- 
lessness to  a  sense  of  the  grave  responsibilities  suddenly  heaped 
upon  them,  and  serving  also  to  awaken  into  more  intense  activity 
that  first  great  duty  cf  civilized  man — the  care  and  protection  of 
the  unfortunate;  and  while  Williams  and  Roper  with  their  noble 
crew  were  steadily  working  their  way  in  heat  and  smoke  from  Mil- 
ler to  the  wreck,  repairing  bridges  and  culverts,  Doctors  Magie 
and  Codding  had  applied  themselves  to  the  alleviation  of  such  suf- 
fering among  the  survivors  at  Skunk  Lake  as  their  medical  stores 
and  skill  made  possible.  The  condition  of  the  people  found  there, 
under  almost  any  other  circumstances  would  have  been  called  de- 
plorable; but,  having  escaped  as  if  by  ai  miracle,  the  most  fearful 
death  that  human  beings  ar^  probably  ever  called  upon  to  face, 
they  considered  themselves,  as  indeed  they  were,  most  fortunate.. 
The  most  that  could  be  done  for  them  was  the  administering  of 
remedies  for  smoke  and  heat  strained  eyes,  and  the  distributing  of 
such  refreshments  as  had  been  brought  Some  slight  surgical  oper- 
ations were  performed  also,  but  the  instruments  brought  were  of 
little  use — those  upon  whom  they  might  have  been  of  service  be- 
ing beyond  relief. 

There  seems  to  be  no  means  of  knowing  or  even  approximating 
the  number  of  passengers  and  refugees  there  werei  at  this  time  at 
Skunk  Lake.  The  number  from  Hinckley  who  'had  "flagged"  the 
train  and  who  had  found  safety  in  its  terrific  flight  from  thence, 
has  been  variously  estimated  at  from  150  to  200,  so  that  there  could  not 
have  been  less  than  three  hundred,  possibly  as  many  as  four  hundred 
that  had  found  safety  in  this  marsh  of  eighteen  inches,  at  best,  of  mud- 
dy water.  Some  of  the  dead  found  between  this  place  and  Miller 
had,  no  doubt,  been  passengers  who  had  tried  to  escape  by  way  of 
the  track  but  had  succumbed  to  exhaustion'  or  suffocation.  O. 
Rowley,  auditor  of  the  Duluth  &  Winnipeg  railroad,  was  one  of 
these.  He  had  somehow  missed  the  marsh  and  strayed  off  into 
a  sort  of  ditch,  where  his  remains  were  found  afterwards,  and  only 


240  MINNESOTA.  FOREST  FIRES. 

identified  by  the  laundry  mark  on  his  shirt  collar.  Ex-Senator  F. 
B.  Daugherty  and  son,  and  two  women,  babies  in  their  arms,  saved 
themselves — the  latter  by  Air.  Daugherty's  help,  by  burrowing  in  a 
potato  patch.  But  they  were,  it  is  believed,  the  only  instances  where 
any  were  saved  outside  of  the  marsh,  for  all  the  rest  found  sb.el.tei, 
so  to  speak,  in  this  stagnant  pool  of  stinking,  slimy  water,  by  cour- 
tesy called  a  lake.  Here,  among  Duluth's  well  known  citizens  was 
Mr.  W.  H.  Blades,  whose  eyes,  it  was  thought,  were  permanently 
injured,  A.  W.  Spyers,  who  was  badly  burned  in  rescuing  a  little 
girl.  J.  O.  Turner  and  others;  and  among  the  prominent  St.  Paul 
people  were  the  Hon.  C.  D.  O'Brien  and  Airs.  Saunders,  the  for- 
mer accompanied  by  a  son  and  brother,  and  the  latter  by  her  own 
children  and  some  young  nieces  to  the  number  of  seven.  Airs.  Sau:v 
ders  gives  Mr.  O'Brien1  great  credit  for  timely  assistance  in  keep- 
ing her  little  flock  together  and  hurrying  them  to  the  marsh.  Here 
were  also  the  heroic  Fireman  McGowan,  and  the  great  porter, 
Blair,  the  latter  even  here  attending  "strictly  to1  business,"  that  is, 
to  the  wants,  comforts  and  safety  of  his  passengers;  pouring  water 
over  some,  dragging  others  to>  places  of  greater  safety,  and  com- 
forting all  with  the  cheerful  prediction  that  "it  would  soon  be  over.'' 
Brave  Jim  Root,  blistered,  blinded  and  wounded  by  bursting  glass, 
had  been  all  but  carried  to  the  marsh  and  back  again  to  the  cab  of 
his  locomotive  by  his  devoted  fireman,  and  here  he  was  found  by 
our  relief  party  almost  oblivious  of  things  about  him  from  his  suf- 
fering. 

At  an  early  hour  in  the  morning  a  relief  party  from  the  south  tin- 
<ler  Dr.  Barnum  had  worked  its  way  past  Hinckley  with  handcars 
and  took  away  St.  Paul  passengers  and  refugees  to,  the  number  of 
"ibout  40.  Some  two  hours  afterwards  Roper's  train  had  worked 
its  way  to  the  lake,  and  taken  out  all  the  rest.  These  were  subse- 
quently transferred  to  an  emergency  train  that  had  been  telegraphed 
*or  for  the  purpose,  and  arrived  in  Duluth  about  noon  on  that  day 
—September  2nd. 

While  these  events  were  transpiring,  others  of  a  similar  nature,  and 
almost  equal  in  dramatic  intensity,  had  taken  place  elsewhere.  The 
Eastern  Minnesota  passenger  Xo.  4,  Conductor  D.  H.  Powers,  with 
William  Best  as  engineer,  arrived  at  Hinckley  bound  north  on  their 
time,  3:25  p.  m.,  Saturday.  There  Engineer  Ed  Barry  was  waiting 
*or  them  with  a  way  freight  side  tracked.  After  a  consultation,  an 
emergency  train  of  five  coaches,  one  caboose  and  three  box  cars, 


MIXXESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  241 

with  the  two  engines,  was  made  up,  and  the  people  packed  in  as 
fast  as  they  could  be  induced  to  come.  Strange  to  say,  many  of  the 
citizens  had  no  realizing  sense  of  the  danger  impending,  and  were 
slow  to  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity.  By  this  dilatoriness 
many  lives  were  lost  that  might  otherwise)  have  been  saved.  It 
was  4:25  before  Powers  would  give  the  signal  to  leave,  and  by  this 
time  the  intensity  of  the  heat  was  such  that  human  endurance 
could  not  have  held  out  longer.  Yet  another  stop  was  made  on 
the  other  side  of  Grindstone  bridge,  and  some  40  additional  refugees 
were  picked  up.  In  fact  the  ties  under  the  track  were  actually  ablaze 
in  some  places  before  the  train  pulled  out  again.  The  first  seven 
miles  after  this  was  a  ride  for  life  such  as  only  a  very  few  can  have 
experienced  and  lived.  The  fire  was  on  both  sides  of  them  and 
roaring  like  a  furnace;  the  thick  smoke  made  it  as  black  as  night; 
the  train  was  smoking  hot  and  might  have  burst  into  flame  at  any 
moment;  the  people  were  fainting  and  gasping  for  air;  but  the 
throttle  was  wide  open  and  the  head  train  was  making  a  mile  a 
minute.  Some  seven  miles  from  Hinckley  it  is  said  the  train  struck 
a  stratum  of  cooler  air,  which  revived  the  almost  suffocating  peo- 
ple to  some  extent.  At  any  rate  they  began  to  breathe  freer;  though 
not  by  any  means  out  of  sight  or  reach  of  fire,  they  had  evidently 
got  ahead  of  it  somewhat. 

Owing  to  the  density  of  the  smoke  there  was  no  possibility  of 
seeing  objects  very  far  ahead,  and  the  head  lights,  although  lighted, 
were  of  little  use,  as  Barry's  locomotive  seems  to  have  been  ahead 
of  Best's  and  running  backwards.  In  order  to  keep  a  look  out  for 
the  condition  of  the  bridges,  before  they  came  to  them,  two  brake- 
men  were  stationed  (Beach  and  the  other  name  not  known)  at 
the  head  on  the  tank,  who,  while  the  train  slowed  to  four  miles  an 
hour,  would  scrutinize  as  well  as  possible  through  the  smoke  the 
objects  before  them.  If  the  result  of  their  observations  was  satis- 
factory enough  to  venture,  they  would  signal  the  train  to  go  ahead, 
when  a  dash  would  be  made  to  the  next  bridge  and  so  on.  One 
account  makes  it  that  in  this  way  19  bridges  were  crossed  in  about 
as  many  miles;  some  of  them  already  on  fire,  and  all  of  which  were 
nearly  or  completely  destroyed  within  a  few  minutes  after  the  pas- 
sage of  the  train.  At  Sandstone  the  people  had  not  arrived  at  a 
realizing  sense  of  the  imminence  of  the  danger  impending  and1 
many  lost  their  lives  because  they  would  not  believe  and  embrace 
the  opportunity  that  was  offered  for  escape.  Near  Sandstone  the 


242  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


BISHOP  McGOLLRICK,  D.  D. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  243 

railroad  bridge  over  Kettle  River  was  found  to  be  on  fire  and  the 
train  slowed  up  before  reaching  it.  The  problem  was  simple  enough. 
If  the  bridge  would  not  hold  them  they  would  go  into  the  river; 
if  they  stayed  where  they  were  they  would  be  burned.  The  two 
watchmen  stationed  here  indicated  by  signs  and  gestures  that  they 
must  make  the  venture,  but  no  urging  was  needed,  a  second  of 
time  in  which  to  take  in  the  situation  was  all,  that  was  required. 
The  heavy  train  moved  slowly  out  upon  the  burning  bridge,  quick- 
ened its  speed  and,  as  if  with  an  abated  breath,  it  was  over.  Five 
minutes  later  what  little  was  left  of  the  structure  was  a  mere  skele- 
ton of  charred  timbers  and  one  of  the  faithful  watchmen  who  had 
been  so  anxious  for  the  safety  of  the  train  was  unable  to  reach  the 
bed  of  the  river  in  time  to  save  himself  and  perished  with  his  bridge. 

In  this  part  of  the  work  it  is  not  expected  to  do  more  than  simply 
allude  to  acts  of  heroism,  and  this  only  in  connection  with  Duluth 
refugees.  It  is  impossible,  however,  to  review  even  in  the  most 
sketch}-  way,  these  details  without  being  struck  with  the  most  in- 
tense admiration  for  the  men  that  conducted  this  train.  They  could 
not  have  been  more  brave  than  Root,  McGowan,  Sullivan  or  Blair; 
they  did  not  have  quite  so  much  to  try  their  souls,  perhaps.  Yet  in  this 
respect  honors  must  be  nearly  equal,  for,  that  which  one  crew  did,' 
the  other  would  have  done  under  similar  circumstances,  is  abundant- 
ly proved  by  what  was  done  by  either.  That  Root  and  his  crew 
came  considerably  nearer  destruction  no  one  will  deny,  for  all  cor- 
roborative evidence  agrees  substantially  in  this,  that  it  was  a  mat- 
ter not  of  minutes  but  of  seconds  of  time  when  his  train  must  have 
enveloped  every  soul  in  it  in  a  living  furnace  of  flame.  Under  such 
circumstances  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  strong  men  were 
crazed  by  the  unparalleled  horror  of  the  situation,  and  that  Root 
and  his  fellow  heroes  could  face  such  a  situation  at  all  and  retain 
presence  of  mind  enough  to  act  as  intelligently  and  as  coolly  as  they 
did,  is  not  only  a  testimony  as  to  the  limit  of  human  endurance, 
"but  can  only  be  accounted  for  upon  the  theory  that  they  were  so 
much  more  interested  in  the  lives  of  those  they  had  in  charge  as 
to  be  entirely  oblivious  of  their  own. 

On  the  other  hand,  Powers,  Best,  Barry  and  their  associates, 
though  not  at  any  time  pushed  quite  so  close  to  the  uttermost  brink 
of  destruction,  deserve  an  equal  amount  of  credit,  for  while  a  com- 
mon fate  was  staring  them  all  in  the  face,  they  had  moral  courage 
enough  to  time  their  actions  so  well,  both  in  the  interest  of  mercy 


244  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

to  some  and  safety  to  others,  that  not  a  minute  could  have  been 
spared  for  the  saving  of  another  life.  A  weaker  person  than  Pow- 
ers would  have  stayed  until  it  had  been  too  late,  a  more  timid  one 
would  have  rushed  off  too  soon  and  left  hundreds  of  lives  to  a  fear- 
ful fate.  As  it  was,  if  he  had  owned  a  time  piece  from  Heaven,  he 
could  not  have  exercised  a  nicer  judgment,  or  saved  another  soul 
without  the  sacrifice  of  his  train  with  its  cargo  of  six  hundred  lives. 

The  French  have  a  term  "D'esprit  de  corps"  for  which  we  have 
no  equivalent  in  our  language,  but  in  America  there  is  now,  and  is 
being  developed  more  and  more  every  day,  a  chivalric  spirit  ani- 
mating the  "Followers  of  the  Rail,"  peculiar  to  themselves.  Of 
this  the  deeds  of  the  men  who  saved  a  thousand  lives  from  the 
Hinckley  fire  is  only  an  illustration,  but  such  deeds  Should  be  the 
means  at  least  of  creating  a  term  of  equal  value  in  English  speech. 

RELIEF  WORK  AT  DTLUTH. 

At  about  7  p.  m.  on  Saturday,  Mayor  Lewis  was  "wired"  by  the 
Eastern  Minnesota  that  from  five  to  six  hundred  fire  refugees  from 
Hinckley  and  Sand'stone  were  on  the  way  to  Duluth  on  an  emer- 
gency train,  and  would  be  in  by  9  that  night.  It  did  arrive  at  9:30 
thus  bringing  the  first  installment  of  fire  sufferers  from  the  burned 
district,  all  of  whom  were  practically  in-  a  destitute  condition  and 
must  be  provided  with  at  least  temporary  help  at  once.  They  were 
met  at  the  depot  by  Mayor  Lewis  and  a  detachment  of  police,  who 
ha'd  instructions  to  see  that  all  were  fed  and  provided  with  comfort- 
able quarters  for  the  night. 

In  the  issue  of  the  Duhith  Tribune  of  Sunday  morning  was  pub- 
lished the  following: 

PROCLAMATION. 

MAYOR'S  OFFICE,  DULUTH,  Sept.  3,  1894. 

A  meeting  of  the  business  men  and  citizens  of  Duluth  will  be 
held  at  the  Council  Chamber  in  the  City  Hall  at  1 1  o'clock  this  morn- 
ing for  the  purpose  of  appointing  a  relief  committee  to  provide 
ways  and  means  for  the  care  of  the  people  who  have  been  left  des- 
titute and  homeless  by  the  disastrous  fire  which  has  burned  so  many 
flourishing  neighboring  towns.  Hundreds  of  men,  women  and 
Children  were  brought  to  the  city  list  night  and  are  in  the  armory 
and  lodging  houses  down  town,  who  have  lost  their  all  and  are 
scantily  clothed.  We  must  provide  food  and  clothing  for  them  at 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  245 

once.     The  occasion  demands  immediate  action  and  I  feel  assured 
that  there  will  be  a  hearty  response  to  this  call. 

RAY  T.  LEWIS,  Mayor. 

Long  before  the  hour  of  meeting,  citizens  commenced  to  congre- 
gate in  the  council  chamber,  and  by  1 1  o'clock  it  was  filled  to  over- 
flowing. Mayor  Lewis  called  the  meeting  to  order,  and  made  a  brief 
statement  of  the  object  and  urgency  of  the  call.  He  said  the  situa- 
tion was  a  very  grave  one.  Some  500  refugees  had  been  brought 
in  by  the  Eastern  Minnesota  the  evening  before  (75  had  remained  at 
West  Superior.  Mr.  Vance,  of  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth,  had  brought 
in  about  125  from  Willow  River  and  Rutledge,  and  according  to 
the  best  calculations  Williams  would  bring  with  him  about  400 
more  from  the  burned  wreck  near  Hinckley,  who  were  looked  for 
at  any  moment.  In  all,  over  1,000  people,  all  more!  or  less  desti- 
tute, thrown  upon  our  hands  without  a  word  of  warning  or  the  slight- 
est preparation  made  to  receive  them. 

On  motion,  a  subscription  list  was  opened  forthwith  and  about 
$3,000  (this  amount  was  increased  during  the  day  to  about  $4,000) 
subscribed  as  fast  as  the  names  could  be  taken  down,  after  which  the 
meeting  adjourned.  From  this  hurriedly  selected  committee  which 
was  in  fact  invested  with  full  control,  and  by  tacit  consent  em- 
powered to  change  or  extend  itself  without  further  reference  to 
public  action,  grew  by  degrees  the  Citizens'  Central  Relief  Com- 
mittee nearly  as  it  is  now  constituted,  with  Col.  E.  C.  Gridley — Hon. 
J.  T.  Hale  having  been  unable  to  serve  on  account  of  illness —  as 
chairman. 

The  refugees  who  were  brought  in  on  Porter's  train  Saturday  at 
9:20  as  well  as  those  brought  later  by  Mr.  Vance,  were,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  all  organized  relief,  taken  charge  of  by  Mayor  Lewis  and 
the  police  force.  The  different  hotels  and  restaurants  were  thrown 
open  to  them,  and  they  were  quartered  afterwards  wherever  quarters 
could  be  found.  The  ''Wolf  Building"  was  furnished  with  cots  by 
the  city,  and  took  in  as  many  as  it  would  hold.  The  Armory  in  the 
Howard  Block  was  thrown  open  and  for  the  second  time  made  to 
do  duty  as  a  shelter  for  fire  sufferers.  The  doors  of  the  Bethel  were 
of  course  wide  open,  as  they  always  are  for  every  emergency,  and 
many  were  taken  and  cared  for  t>y  private  citizens. 

The  next  morning  the  ladies  of  the  Relief  Society  were  called  to- 
gether by  its  president,  Mrs.  Miller,  and  opened  up  in  one  of  the 
'basement  offices  in  the  Lyceum,  to  which  was  brought  and  un- 


246 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


M1XNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES,  247 

packed  their  stock  of  clothing  and  wearing  apparel,  for  both  male 
and  femaile,  Which  that  society  fortunately  had  on  hand  ready  for 
the  coming  winter's  use.  It  is  due  to  the  Ladies'  Relief  Society  to 
say,  that  owing  to  their  splendid  organization  they  were  really  the 
first  in  the  field,  after  the  city  authorities,  to-  afford  systematic  re- 
lief in  the  way  of  wearing  apparel  for  both  sexes,  old  as  well  as 
young.  As  soon  as  it  becarre  known  that  they  (the  Relief  Society) 
had  established  headquarters,  contributions  commenced  to  pour  in, 
and  continued  to  pour  by  single  garments,  by  bundles,  and  by  wa- 
gon loads,  good,  bad  and  indifferent  (for  the  poor  were  vying  with 
the  rich)  in  a  constant  stream,  until  the  poor  gentlewomen  having 
the  place  in  charge  were  almost  buried  in  the  heaps  of  donations, 
and  asphixiated  by  the  old-clothes-reek  that  prevailed.  Before  the 
day  was  over  these  quarters  were  found  entirely  inadequate  to  their 
needs,  and  more  commodious  ones  in  the  new  Duluth  Trust  Com- 
pany's Block  were  donated,  into  which  they  moved  the  following 
day.  Here  the  ladies  of  the  Relief  Society  labored  constantly  for 
weeks,  sometimes  as  many  as  thirty  or  forty  at  a  time,  in  the  dis- 
tribution of  every  conceivabk  kind  of  wearing  appard,  from  the 
brogani  of  the  laborer  to  the  more  complicated  head  dress  of  the 
ladies;  even  flowers  for  the  head  gear  of  the  most  fastidious  wer« 
not  thought  to  be  out  of  place  in  the  distribution  of  necessities, 
and  many  a  good  woman  went  out  of  tine  Ladies'  Relief  Headquar- 
ters rejoicing  in  a  more  lovely  affair  in  the  shape  of  a  bonnet  than 
she  had  probably  ever  owned  before.  The  splendid  work  of  the 
Ladies'  Relief  Society  will  be  taken  up  and  summarized  later  on. 

Several  of  the  churches  entirely  suspended  or  cut  short  their  serv- 
ices the  Sunday  morning  following  the  fire,  in  order  that  the  mem- 
bers might  have  more  time  to  provide  for  the  refugees  already  here 
as  well  as  those  who  were  known  to  be  coming.  The  services  of 
the  Pilgrim  Congregational  Church  were  by  the  pastor,  Rev.  E.  M. 
Noyes,  turned  into  a  business  meeting,  and  the  congregation  spent 
the  best  portion  of  the  day  in  arranging  and  fitting  up  the  commodious 
room  in  the  basement  for  a  temporary  'home,  and  by  5  o'clock 
these  were  so  completely  provided,  that  in  fact  98  children  had  been 
bathed,  fed,  clothed  and  put  to  bed  before  9  o'clock  that  night.  The 
First  Presbyterian  Church  did  likewise,  fitting  up  its  capacious  base- 
ment for  a  hospital  and  dormitory.  The  St.  Paul's  Episcopal 
Church  secured  and  fitted  up  the  Berkelman  Block  for  the  same 
purpose,  while  many  other  churches  or  church  societies  took  equally 


248  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

prompt  action.  The  Odd  Fellows  prepared  their  -hall  and  other 
vacant  portions  of  the  building  for  the  reception  and  care,  not  only 
of  the  members  of  their  own  order,  but  for  all  they  could  accom- 
modate. The  Hospitals  of  St.  Mary  and  St.  Luke  were  making 
such  extra  preparations  as  were  needed.  The  Maternity  Hospital 
also  made  extensive  preparations  for  such  cases  almong  the  unfor- 
tunates as  might  be  brought  in  meed  of  the  care  and  protection  of 
such  an  institution.  All  these  organizations,  churches,  societies  and 
institutions  commenced  the  work  of  relief  independently,  either  Sun- 
day evening  or  Monday  morning,  but  as  soon  as  the  Central  Relief 
Committee  had  completed  its  organization,  their  operations  were 
either  merged  in  or  conducted  under  the  auspices  of  the  central  body. 
The  Armory  and  the  Bethel  were  so  conducted  from  the  first. 
More  special  mention  will  be  made  later  on  of  the  labors  and  the 
work  accomplished  by  all  these  bodies.  At  present  it  is  enough 
to  know  that  the  people  of  Duluth  were  taking  hold  of  the  work 
as  one  being,  with  a  single  mind,  t'leir  only  strug-gle  being  the  noble 
one,  to  see  who  could  do  the  most  good. 

While  these  timely  measures  were  being  taken  at  Duluth,  the  rail- 
road people  were  exerting  every 'means  at  their  command  to  rescue 
or  relieve  the  many  sufferers,  who,  it  was  known  or  presumed,  must 
yet  be  alive  in  the  burned  district,  from  an,  unpleasant,  untenable, 
perhlaps  still  a  dangerous  position.  Two  thoroughly  equipped 
relief  trains  pulled  out  from  Duluth  at  about  the  same  time,  at  4 
o'clock  Sunday  afternoon,  one  on  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  in  charge 
of  Hon.  O.  D.  Kinney,  the  other  on  the  Eastern  Minnesota  under 
General  Manager  W.  C.  Farrington. 

Besides  a  complete  outfit  of  medical  stores  of  every  kind.  Mr. 
Kinney  had  with  'him  Doctors  Taylor,  Bangs,  Weston,  Specht,  Lyn- 
ham,  and  Weir,  also  the  Misses  Trussler,  Berisford,  Maris  and  Scott, 
all  trained  nurses  from  St.  Luke's  Hospital.  A  number  of  experi- 
enced woodsmen  and  "packers"  also  accompanied  Mr.  Kinney  as 
well  as  a  number  of  volunteers.  Among  these  were  ex-Mayor 
d'Autremont,  Hon.  E.  C.  Gridley,  C.  E.  Shannon,  Robert  Shannon, 
Z.  H.  Austin,  Geo.  Dinwoodie  and  Thomas  Walsih.  As  it  was  well 
known  that  owing  to  the  burned  bridges  on  the  Eastern  Minnesota 
it  had  been  impossible  to  reach  Sandstone  with  any  relief  over  that 
road,  it  became  the  object  of  ambition  with  our  party  to  penetrate 
the  timber  to  that  place,  and  liberate  any  of  the  unfortunates  who 
might  yet  be  alive  and  hemmed  in  there.  In  order  to  accomplish 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  249 

this  it  was.  necessary  to  take  a  course  from  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth 
tracks  of  some  six  miles  through  burned,  and,  to  some  extent,  yet 
burning  timlber.  This  was  only  a  trifling  matter  to  our  gallant 
woodsmen,  however,  and  in  return  for  their  labor  they  had  the 
immense  satisfaction  of  liberating  247  sufferers  from  the  unpleasant, 
not  to  say  dangerous,  predicament  they  were  in.  All  these  people 
were  guided  back  to  the  train  by  our  woodsmen,  who  at  the  same 
time  thought  it  sport  to  "pack"  (carry)  out  all  the  little  children  on 
their  great  broad  backs.  The  train  returned  to  Duluth  at  7:25, 
Monday  morning. 

As  before  stated  Mr.  Farrington's  train  left  the  Eastern  Min- 
nesota depot  at  the  same  time  as  Mr.  Kinney's.  He  was  accom- 
panied by  Doctors  McComb,  Salter,  Shervvin  and  Gibson,  also  Wm. 
Burgess,  B.  G.  Segog,  John  Gordon,  M.  L.  Brooks  and  some  50 
woodsmen.  Besides  a  perfect  equipment  of  everything  needful  this 
train  was  provided  with  two  teams  and  wagons  and  a  boat,  the 
latter  to  be  used  as  a  ferry  across  Kettle  river  by  the  burned  bridge, 
and  the  former  for  the  carrying  of  supplies  into  Sandstone  by  any 
route  that  might  be  found  or  made.  In  fact  a  detour  of  several 
miles,  for  which  a  road  had  to  be  swamped  out,  had  to  be  made  to 
find  a  crossing;  meanwhile  supplies  were  sent  into  Sandstone  by 
"packers."  Here  it  was  found  that  Kinney's  party  had  anticipated 
them  and  taken  out  many  people,  but  in  spite  of  that  fact  there  were 
some  50  refugees  here  yet,  most  of  whom  were  such  as  had  been  un- 
able or  unwilling  to  follow  that  party  through  the  burning  timber. 
Most  of  these  were  in  a  deplorable  condition  and  suffering  from 
burns  and  bruises,  exhaustion,  terror  and  the  want  of  food.  All 
were  administered  to  according  to  their  needs,  and  taken  to  the  train. 
Some  62  victims  of  the  fire  were  buried  here  by  Farrington's  party, 
all  of  whom  had  perished  in  the  village  of  Sandstone.  The  train 
arrived  in  Duluth  at  I  p.  m.  Monday. 

About  the  time  the  "Kinney"  and  "Farrington"  trains  left  Duluth, 
i.  e.  about  4  o'clock  Sunday  evening,  Yardmaster  Williams  took  out 
a  combined  construction  and  relief  train  over  the  St.  Paul  &  Du- 
luth under  Conductor  Wellman.  While  Wellman  and  crew  worked 
all  night  in  repairing  damages  to  tracks  and  culverts,  Williams  and 
another  crew  conducted  a  relief  party,  picking  up  refugees  to  the 
number  of  29,  who  were  mainly  from  Finlayson.  At  I  p.  m.  on 
Monday  the  tracks  were  so  far  repaired  that  Williams  wired  Duluth 
that  communication  with  St.  Paul  was  open  and  ready  for  regular 
trains.  Wellman's  train  arrived  at  Duluth  at  2:45  p.  m.  Monday 


250 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


CHIEF  ARMSTRONG,  DULUTH.  DETECTIVE  THOMAS  HAYDEN,  DULUTH. 


CAPT.  S.  J.  THOMPSON,  DULUTH.  DETECTIVE  R.  A.  BENSON,  DULUTH. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  251 

The  same  day  at  10:30  a.  m.  Hon.  C.  A.  Towne  had,  at  the  request 
of  Mayor  Lewis,  taken  out  a  fully  equipped  train  for  the  burned 
district.  The  party  consisted  of  Doctor  Magie,  Ed  Patterson,  Fred 
Reynolds  and  others,  and  the  next  day  W.  T.  Bailey  took  out  a  party 
of  explorers  to  scour  the  woods,  but  the  operations  of  these  parties 
were  mostly  confined  to  the  identification  of  the  dead  and  the  burial 
of  the  victims.  Of  this  work  details  are  furnished  that  are  heart- 
rending in  the  extreme,  but  as  they  have  been  entered  into  elsewhere 
they  must  be  entirely  omitted  here. 

As  the  extent  of  the  calamity  became  more  widely  known  and 
appreciated,  contributions  increased,  not  only  at  home  but  from 
abroad,  not  only  did  the  cities  in  the  neighborhood  of  Duluth  and 
others  in  the  state  send  goodly  sums:  but  cities  in  other  states, 
Michigan,  Illinois,  Iowa  and  Connecticut  sent  contributions  and 
one  was  received  from  Glasgow,  Scotland. 

Mr.  John  D.  Rockefeller  on  hearing  of  the  calamity  had  caused  to 
be  subscribed  $500.00  from  the  funds  of  the  Mesaba  Railroad  Com- 
pany, but  upon  an  urgent  message  from  Mr.  Megins,  of  the  auditing 
committee,  he  withdrew  that  amount  and  telegraphed  $1,000.00 
from  his  private  funds.  Mr.  A.  M.  Miller,  who  never  allows  an 
opportunity  to  pass  without  doing  something  pleasant,  telegraphed 
from  Xew  York  to  Treasurer  Chapin  as  follows: 

"First  National  Bank  will  pay  you  $500.00  on  my  account.  This 
is  authority  for  same.  If  Mike  Dunn,  my  old  section  foreman,  at 
Hinckley,  is  among  the  sufferers,  give  him  and  wife  $50.00  each, 
preference  on  balance  to  my  old  railroad  employes  if  in  need.  En- 
gineer Root  knows  them." 

The  banks  contributed  as  high  as  $250.00  each,  and  individuals 
as  much  as  $100.00,  the  rest  ranging  from  $1.00  to  $50.00.  At 
the  end  of  the  first  week  (Sept.  6,)  the  committee  w-as  able  to  report 
cash  received  $10,489.79  and  subscribed  additionally  $2,675.00,  be- 
sides not  less  than  $9,000.00  in  commodities  of  all  kinds,  not  includ- 
ing railroad  transportation,  of  which  no  computation  was  attempted. 
Of  all  these  contributions,  magnificent  as  some  of  them  were,  none 
was  more  welcome  or  more  deserving  of  special  mention  than  the 
so-called  "News  Bovs'  Relief."  Eighty-one  little  fellows,  a  list  oi 
whose  names  is  preserved  and  treasured  by  the  Relief  Committee, 
made  up  a  sum  of  $18.18  for  the  fire  sufferers  in  amounts  ranging 
from  $1.00  to  three  cents,  Billie  Groosky,  the  "Newsboys'  Mascot," 
contributing  the  latter  amount,  which  is  probably  the  smallest  con- 
tribution to  the  relief  fund  of  anv  one  individual  on  record. 


252  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

The  state  relief  commission,  consisting  of  C.  A.  Pillsbury,  of  Min- 
neapolis, Kenneth  H.  Clarke,  of  St.  Paul,  and  M.  G.  Norton,  of  Wi- 
nona,  C.  H.  Graves  of  this  city,  and  Secretary  Hart  arrived  in  Du- 
luth  on  the  afternoon  "Limited"  September  6th,  for  the  purpose  of 
conferring  with  the  Duluth  Relief  Committee  and  for  the  adoption 
of  such  measures  as  the  gravity  of  the  situation  might  suggest. 
The  commission  was  accompanied  by  Governor  Nelson,  Mayor 
Eustis,  of  Minneapolis,  and  other  prominent  people.  A  conference 
was  held  in  the  evening  at  the  Spalding  Hotel,  at  which  Chairman 
Gridley  and  all  the  heads  of  committees  were  present. 

By  this  time  the  relief  work  carried  on  at  Duluth  had  been  so 
systematized  by  the  able  and  continuous  efforts  of  Chairman  Grid- 
ley  that  its  operations  took  on  more  the  character  of  a  business  than 
the  temporary  labors  in  a  contingency.  The  accounts  of  the  finance 
committee  had  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  an  expert  accountant 
and  were  in  a  state  of  absolute  perfection.  Mr.  Wm.  Craig  had  been 
placed  at  the  head  of  the  purchasing  and  supply  committee  and  had 
reduced  the  important  function  of  buying  to  first  business  princi- 
ples. A  supply  depot  had  been  established  in  connection  with  the 
Ladies'  Relief  Society  and  placed  in  charge  of  Messrs.  H.  L.  Shep 
ard  and  Frank  Burke.  The  issuing  of  transportation  tickets  in 
charge  of  Mr.  W.  Buchanan  was  conducted  with  perfect  satisfac- 
tion to  the  recipients  as  well  as  the  railroad  companies.  Rev.  Bish- 
op McGolrick,  in  charge  of  lumber  and  building  supplies,  was  inde- 
fatigable in  his  labors,  and  accomplished  wonders.  Messrs.  Batche- 
lor  and  Geggie,  on  the  committee  on  rooms  and  quarters,  Mrs 
Bangs  on  the  bureau  of  information,  in  fact  everyone  connected  with 
the  committee  was  working  steadily,  enthusiastically  and  harmon- 
iously, and  in  a  manner  that  could  call  forth  no  criticism. 

The  work  accomplished  by  this  committee  in  its  various  branches 
up  to  this  time  (September  6th)  was  summed  up  and  laid  before 
the  state  committee  as  follows: 

The  number  of  persons  actually  maintained  in  some  way  for  more 
or  less  time,  1,582.  Public  quarters  established  for  refugees  12 
Private  quarters  where  refugees  had  been  or  were  yet  maintained  17 

Total  cash  and  unpaid  subscriptions  received,  $13,103.79. 

Value  of  subscriptions  other  than  cash  (estimated),  $10,000.00 

Number  of  people  at  that  time  under  relief  committee,  932. 

Estimated  number  remaining  in  city  in  need  of  help,  $1,000. 

The    conference    terminated    after   a    very    interesting    session  of 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  253 

some  two  'hours,  and  in  a  manner  very  satisfactory  to  the  committee, 
after  which  the  distinguished  party  was  put  into  carriages  and  con- 
ducted to  the  Bethel,  Armory,  Berkelman  Block  and  other  places, 
where  short  addresses  were  made  to  the  sufferers  and  words  of  en- 
couragement and  the  promise  of  such  assistance  as  the  state  could 
grant,  were  spoken. 

Without  going  into  details  the  result  of  the  conference  was,  that 
Duluth  should  continue  the  temporary  relief  of  such  refugees  as 
were  here  until  they  should  be  able  to  take  care  of  themselves,  or 
until  means  could  be  provided  for  them  by  the  state ;  that  John ,  G 
Howard  and  X.  J.  Miller  were  to  act  for  Duluth  under  the  relief 
commission  in  the  rebuilding  and  furnishing  of  houses  at  Hinckley 
and  Sandstone  for  such  as  desired  to  return  to  those  places.  The 
state  would  gradually  assume  control  of  the  more  permanent  relief 
measures  contemplated  by  the  commission,  and  would  at  once  take 
charge  of  the  work  of  taking  depositions  upon  an  established  plan 
of  its  own,  and  some  three  hundred  of  these  documents — descrip- 
tive lists  of  families  upon  which  to  base  applications  or  administra- 
tions of  relief — were  turned  over  by  the  committee  on  information 
to  Mr.  Hart,  the  secretary  of  the  commission. 

As  fast  as  the  people  could  provide  for  themselves,  or  be  pro- 
vided for  permanently,  or  were  sent  away,  the  more  temporary  ''Har- 
bors of  Refuge"  were  given  up  and  the  inmates  transferred  to  the 
Bethel,  the  Armory  or  the  Berkelman  Block.  The  'hospital  cases 
were  of  course  continued  without  interruption  until  the  patients 
were  cured,  and,  if  need  there  were,  provided  for  otherwise. 

Thus  the  Pilgrim  Congregational  Church,  which  stands  among 
the  foremost  in  energetic  preparations  for  the  emergency,  was  re- 
lieved of  its  dharge  by  the  General  Relief  Committee  on  the  7th  of 
September,  up  to  which  time  200  people  had  'been  clothed,  fed  and 
housed.  This  society  has  been  alluded  to  elsewhere  tor  exceed- 
ing promptness  in  its  preparations  so  that  98  refugee  children  had 
been  bathed,  fed,  and  put  to  bed,  in  clean>  night  clothes,  before  9 
o'clock  Sunday  evening.  A  professional  nurse  was  put  in  charge 
of  the  sleeping  apartments,  a  physician  was  engaged,  and  owing  to 
the  foreign  parentage  of  the  greater  part  of  the  children  it  was  found 
necessary  to  have  an  interpreter.  On  Monday  so  many  people, 
(their  number  must  have  run  into  thousands,)  kept  crowding  into 
the  church,  some  in  the  hope  of  finding  friends  or  relatives,  others 
simply  to  offer  help  and  assistance — that  it  was  found  necesary  to 


254 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  255 

station  guards  outside  to  keep  them  out.  The  expedient  was  also 
hit  upon  to  keep  a  bulletin  board  outside  with  the  names  thereon 
of  the  families  within.  These  names  were,  of  course,  erased  as  fast, 
as  the  families  were  taken  away  or  sent  to  friends,  thus  avoiding 
much  confusion.  In  the  rear  of  the  church  the  large  open  space 
was  converted  into  a  play  ground  for  the  older  children  while  kin- 
dergarten games  were  provided  inside  for  the  little  ones. 

The  First  Presbyterian  Church  was  also  among  the  very  first  to 
make  excellent  preparations  for  the  emergency.  The  basement  of 
this  elegant  edifice  being  provided  with  numerous  class  rooms,  a 
kitchen,  dining  room,  lavatory,  etc.,  is  easily  adapted  for  the  pur- 
poses of  hospital  and  dormitory,  when  required.  The  members 
spent  all  of  Sunday  afternoon  in  fitting  up  this  basement  with  cots, 
beds  and  bedding,  clothing,  food  and  medical  supplies,  in  short 
with  everything  needful.  The  Central  Relief  Committee  were  only 
too  glad  to  avail  themselves  of  such  admirable  quarters,  and  as  fast 
as  refugees  arrived  whose  condition  demanded  special  care  and 
treatment,  they  were  sent  to  the  Presbyterian  Church.  While  all 
the  members  and  their  friends  contributed  with  enthusiasm  and  zeal 
to  the  work,  Mrs.  Cleland,  Mrs.  J.  D.  Day,  Mrs,  Laitte  and  Messrs. 
Webb  and  Gorton  may  be  particularly  mentioned  as  leaders  in  the 
work.  Airs.  Cleland  having  in  her  special  charge  the  lavatory, 
which  was  not  always  agreeable,  and  the  latter  had  the  distribution 
of  supplies,  clothing,  groceries,  etc.  This  work  was  kept  up  for 
something  more  than  a  week  when  the  inmates  were  transferred 
to  the  Bethel.  During  this  time  nearly  150  people  had  been  cared 
for,  one  family  contributing  quite  largely  to  swell  this  number,  con- 
sisting as  it  did  of  fourteen  members,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  O'Neil  with  12 
children. 

Miss  Erickson,  the  eighteen  year  old  postmistress  of  Sandstone, 
found  refuge  here.  The  brave  girl  deserves  special  mention,  for 
while  having  lost  all  her  own  worldy  goods,  she  had  managed  to 
save  the  proceeds  of  the  stamp  sale  of  that  town  to  the  amount  of 
some  $36.00  in  a  cigar  box.  With  this  box  she  had  fled  from  the 
fire  to  the  river,  clutching  it  in  her  determined  hold  while  forced  to 
dive  again  and  again  away  from  the  flames.  The  money  was 
turned  over  to  the  Duluth  postmaster  and  by  that  official  forwarded 
to  Washington  while  she  was  here. 

The  ladies  of  the  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church,  though  their 
edifice  would  not  admit  of  the  care  of  any  sufferers  within  the  build- 


256  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

ing  itself,  were  among  the  foremost  to  provide  quarters  and  devote 
themselves  to  the  great  work  of  relief.  A  committee  consisting-  of 
Mesdames  J.  F.  McLaren,  O.  K.  Kinney,  J.  E.  Bowers,  W.  R.  Stone, 
H.  M.  Peyton  and  Dr.  Gurd  were  at  an  early  hour  on  Sunday  ap- 
pointed to  take  active  measures.  Through  the  generosity  of  Mr. 
Wm.  E.  Lucas  the  Berkelman  Block,  which  happened  to  be  vacant, 
was  secured  and  quickly  fitted  up  with  beds  and  other  accessories. 
The  place  was  opened  Monday  morning  and  was  intended  more  to 
serve  the  purpose  of  a  hospital  for  the  care  of  acute  cases  of  suf- 
fering than  for  general  purposes.  The  great  need  of  accommoda- 
tions, however,  compelled  the  admittance  of  a  large  number  of  all 
classes,  and  in  eight  days  a  varying  number  of  men,  women  and 
children  were  comfortably  housed,  fed  and  furnished  with  medical 
attendance.  The  whole  number  cared  for  in  this  time  was  86  men, 
32  women  and  96  children,  a  total  of  214.  At  the  expiration  of  this 
time  the  Central  Relief  Committee  relieved  the  ladies  and  the  place 
was  put  in  charge  of  Col.  J.  B.  Geggie,  of  the  Central  Relief  Com- 
mittee. 

The  Duluth  Woman's  Home  Society  made  a  speciality  of  caring 
for  waifs  and  strays,  such  as  were  separated  from  their  families  cr 
were  mourning  the  loss  of  near  and  dear  ones.  Many  pathetic  in- 
cidents transpired  here.  Among  the  rest,  one  woman  with  four 
little  children  had  been  mourning  the  loss  of  the  husband  and  father 
as  dead  for  several  days,  when,  through  the  bureau  of  information  of 
the  central  committee  he  was  at  last  able  to  locate  them.  In  the 
same  way  a  little  child,  who  it  was  supposed  was  left  entirely  alone 
in  the  world,  was  found  by  her  father,  and  great  was  the  rejoicing 
over  her. 

The  order  of  Odd  Fellows  was,  it  is  supposed,  instituted  more 
for  the  relief  of  their  own  members  when  necessary,  than  for  people 
generally.  But  be  this  as  it  may,  they  certainly  did  not  in  this 
instance  confine  themselves  to  such  narrow  limits.  On  Sunday, 
the  2nd,  some  200  Odd  Fellows  assembled  in  their  hall  on  Lake 
Avenue,  and  in  a  few  minutes  raised  $400.00  for  relief  purposes.  A 
committee  was  appointed  consisting  of  G.  W.  Goldsmith,  chairman 
(since  deceased),  John  Douglas,  Wm.  M.  Donaldson,  E.  L.  Sly  and 
McG.  McDonald,  secretary.  Two  of  their  members  were  the  same 
day  dispatched  to  Hinckley  and  Sandstone  to  hunt  up  or  ascertain 
the  fate  of  their  brethren  who  were  known  or  supposed  to  be  there 
at  the  time.  Meanwhile  their  large  hall  and  some  vacant  rooms 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  257 

in  other  parts  of  their  building  were  carefully  fitted  up  for  the  re- 
ception of  unfortunates.  These  quarters  were  in  co-operation  with 
the  Central  Relief,  in  constant  use  for  six  weeks  and  for  general 
relief  purposes,  and  all  this  time  the  ladies  of  the  order  known  as 
the  Daughters  of  Rebecca,  administered  to  the  wants  of  the  in- 
mates with  great  good  nature  and  unwavering  patience. 

St.  Luke's  Hospital  cared  for  12  patients  in  all.  In  this  case  it 
was  not  the  amount  of  service  for  the  many,  but  the  great  service 
to  the  few  that  claims  our  admiration.  Erick  Elstrom,  one  of  the 
cases  treated,  (see  portrait  or  picture)  owes  his  life  probably,  cer- 
tainly his  eyesight  and  the  partial  use  of  his  hands,  to  the  skillful 
medical  treatment  of  Dr.  Chase,  and  the  very  careful  nursing  he  re- 
ceived. He  had  suffered  from  almost  criminal  neglect  elsewhere, 
and  was  considered  a  hopeless  case  when  first  brought  to  the  hos- 
pital. One  BillaclOj  whose  life  was  also  despaired  of  when  brought 
in,  recovered  entirely,  and  his  hands,  that  were  in  a  shocking  c<  n- 
dition,  were  also  saved.  This  hospital  had  sent  out  professional 
nurses  on  one  of  the  early  relief  trains,  as  mentioned  elsewhere,  so 
as  to  be  on  hand,  so  to  speak,  on  the  very  "field  of  battle." 

St.  Mary's  Hospital  cared  for  22  "fire  patients"  in  all,  among 
whom  were  a  number  of  very  interesting  cases.  Here  brave  Con- 
ductor Sullivan,  of  the  ill-fated  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  ''Limited/'  was 
cared  for.  Sullivan,  from  the  very  responsibility  of  his  positi>n, 
had  probably  been  able  to  realize  more  fully  than  any  others  the 
unparalleled  horror  of  the  situation  and  his  utter  helplessness  in  the 
face  of  it.  The  strain  was  too  great  and  his  reason  gave  away.  It 
seemed  to  be  while  in  the  act  of  saving,  as  he  thought,  a  child  by  throw- 
ing it  out  of  a  car  window  that  his  reasoning  powers  ceased  to  act; 
at  any  rate  the  impression  of  this  action  remained  firmly  stamped 
upon  his  mind  until  he  regained  his  right  senses.  In  his  delirium 
while  at  the  hospital,  it  was  pitiable  to  hear  him  at  times  pleading 
as  it  were  for  the  safety  of  this  child.  The  incident  seems  to  have 
taken  place  at  the  very  moment  the  train  stopped  at  Skunk  Lake, 
for  the  child  that  figured  so  vividly  in  his  disordered  mind  was 
picked  up  and  saved. 

Another  interesting  case  under  treatment  here  was  that  of  a  poor 
woman  almost  in  the  last  stages  of,  and  entirely  helpless  from, 
dropsy,  but  whose  life  had  been  saved  by  the  strength,  devotion,  and 
courage  of  a  daughter,  in  whose  arms  she  had  been  carried  a  consid- 
erable distance  to  a  place  of  safety.  Another  patient  under  treat- 


258  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

ment  in  St.  Mary's  was  Father  Lawler,  the  heroic  priest,  who  at  the 
last  extremity,  so  it  could  not  but  seem,  had  torn  his  coat  into 
pieces  to  serve  as  shields  for  others  against  the  flames.  The  fol- 
lowing pathetic  and  curious  incident  is  related  of  him. 

It  seems  he  was  standing  among  quite  a  number  of  people  in 
some  shallow  water  in  which  they  would  crouch  as  best  they  could 
to  escape  the  sheets  of  flame  as  they  passed  over.  During  one  of 
their  breathing  spells  one  poor  fellow  near  him  asked  for  confes- 
sion. As  this  was  manifestly  impossible  under  the  circumstances, 
he  could  not  comply,  but  the  incident  served  to  remind  him  never- 
theless of  his  dudes  even  here,  and  the  good  priest  pronounced  ab- 
solution to  all  around. 

At  the  Maternity  Hospital  three  children  were  registered  as  born 
to  the  fire  sufferers.  The  first  a  boy,  a  remarkably  fine  child  (see 
picture).  He  was  born  on  the  afternoon  of  the  2nd  to  Mrs.  James 
Crocker,  of  Finlayson,  and  was  named  in  compliment  to  the  people 
of  Duluth  ''James  Paul  Duluth  Crocker."  Many  pretty  things  were 
sent  to  him,  among  the  rest  a  silver  spoon  with  his  name  engraved 
thereon.  A  girl  was  born  shortly  afterwards  to  Mrs.  John  Turn- 
quest,  of  Hinckley,  she  was  named  "Mary  Addie  Amerit,"  in  hon- 
or of  the  three  nurses  from  St.  Luke's  who  had  officiated  at  her 
birth.  Mrs.  Julia  Stewart,  of  Sandstone,  was  delivered  of  a  girl 
soon  after;  she  was  also  named  after  her  three  St.  Luke's  nurses, 
"Jessie  Francis  Maud."  Many  children  were  bathed  and  clothed, 
and  five  sick  mothers  and  seven  children  were  cared  for  until  they 
were  well.  A  Mrs.  John  Anderson  with  three  little  children  stayed 
here  over  the  terrible  night  of  the  2nd.  She  was  wild  with  grief, 
thinking  her  husband  lost,  while  the  little  ones  were  calling  all 
through  the  night  for  "papa."  The  husband  had  been  equally  wild 
with  fears  for  their  safety,  when  he  found  them  the  next  day. 

When  Mayor  Lewis  was  authorized  at  a  public  meeting  to  ap- 
point a  general  committee,  Dr.  C.  C.  Salter,  pastor  of  the  "Bethe!/" 
offered  the  use  of  the  entire  building  for  the  fire  refugees,  while 
the  superintendent,  Mr.  C.  F.  Robel,  set  the  building  in  order  to  re- 
ceive refugees,  also  opened  a  restaurant  to  feed  the  famishing  hun- 
gry. The  good  friends  of  the  "Bethel"  came  to  his  assistance,  send- 
ing in  cots,  clothing,  medicines,  bandages,  etc.,  for  the  injured  and 
destitute.  The  noble  women  of  the  city  tendered  their  services 
to  administer  to  the  wants  of  the  sufferers,  while  the  Bethel  restau- 
rant furnished  food  in  abundance,  and  plenty  of  milk  and  suitable 
delicacies  for  babes  and  children. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  259 

The  women  and  children  were  taken  in  charge  of  by  Mrs.  J.  J. 
Crowley,  of  the  Ladies'  Relief  Society,  who  saw  that  all  received  a 
bath  and  clean  clothing,  and  were  assigned  to  their  proper  places 
in  the  building. 

Dr.  H.  C.  Watson,  of  Beaver  Falls,  Pa.,  who  was  sojourning  tem- 
porarily on  Minnesota  Point,  volunteered  his  services,  and  was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  sick  and  injured  at  the  Bethel  by  Supt.  C. 
F.  Robel.  Many  had  received  burns,  others  had  almost  lost  their 
eyesight,  and  all  were  in  a  frantic  state  of  excitement;  mothers 
mourning  for  the  loss  of  their  children,  children  searching  for  their 
parents. 

The  large  assembly  hall,  gymnasium,  and  bowling  alley  were 
speedily  transformed  into  dormitories,  and  by  9  o'clock  p.  m.  two 
hundred  men,  women  and  dhildren  were  resting  comfortably  on  cots 
and  bedding  furnished  by  the  good  citizens  of  Dulutli,  while  gentle 
hands  ministered  to  the  sick  and  injured. 

The  benevolent  face  of  Dr.  Salter  loomed  up  on  every  hand,  giv- 
ing aid  and  comfort  to  those  at  the  Bethel,  hospitals,  and  all  places 
he  could  be  of  use.  On  Wednesday,  September  5th,  he  visited  the 
burnt  district  and  assisted  in  burying  the  dead  and  held  religious 
services  over  the  bodies  of  the  Sherman  and  Lowell  families  and  a 
large  number  of  unidentified  dead. 

On  Monday,  September  3d,  nine  hundred  meals  were  served  in 
the  restaurant  to  refugees. 

Gospel  meetings  were  held  nightly  and  largely  attended  by  the 
refugees  and  much  interest  manifested.  Services  were  1  eld  in 
Swedish  language. 

On  Friday  Sept.  7th,  Gov.  Nelson,  his  private  secretary,  H.  H. 
Hart,  secretary  of  state  board  of  charities,  and  Mr.  C.  A.  Pillsbury, 
of  Minneapolis,  visited  the  refugees  at  the  Bethel,  shaking  hands 
and  giving  words  of  encouragement  and  comfort  to  those  in  trouble, 

The  cloud  of  gloom  that  was  hanging  over  the  refugees  at  the 
Bethel  was  somewhat  dissipated  by  a  romance  at  noon,  Sept.  4th. 
Miss  Minnie  Samuelson  and  John  de  Rosier,  from  near  Hinckley, 
were  united  in  the  bonds  of  matrimony  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  C.  C.  Sal- 
ter. The  Samuelson  family  had  bidden  their  friends  to  the  wed- 
ding feast  on  the  fateful  Saturday  preceding  the  fire.  All  was 
going  on  merrily  but  just  before  the  ceremony  was  to  be  performed 
the  homestead  was  in  ashes  and  the  parties  were  fighting  for  their 
lives  in  a  root  house  near  by.  They  owe  their  lives  to  the  fact  that 


260 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  261 

in  this  house  were  a  number  of  pans  of  milk  and  with  this  they  kept 
the  wooden  door  from  burning. 

At  I  o'clock  p.  m.  to  the  strains  of  the  wedding-  march  by  Mrs. 
McKinley,  the  bride  and  bridegroom  entered  the  hall  of  the  "Bethel" 
and  marched  up  to  where  the  doctor  stood,  beaming  like  the  incar- 
nation of  benevolence.  They  were  attended  by  Airs.  J.  J.  Crowley, 
who  was  escorted  by  Chief  of  Police  H.  T.  Armstrong.  The  ladies 
had  provided  the  bride  with  a  light  colored  dress  that  suited  her  to 
perfection.  In  her  hand  and  corsage  she  wore  some  beautiful  roses 
presented  by  Airs.  Judge  Stearns.  On  her  head  was  a  wreath  of 
orange  flowers  surmounted  by  a  lace  veil  presented  by  Airs.  Humes, 
while  others  had  sent  and  brought  fruits,  and  flowers,  and  dainties 
wherewith  to  set  forth  the  wedding  feast  Dr.  Salter  read  the  wed- 
ding service,  gallantly  congratulating  the  bride.  After  the  ceremony, 
the  Samuebon  family  sat  down  in  several  detachments  and  the  simple 
festivities  were  prolonged  far  into  the  afternoon.  Airs.  Dr.  Wat- 
son took  up  a  collection  for  the  bride  among  Bethel  friends,  and 
a  nice  little  sum  was  contributed  and  presented  to  her  by  C.  F. 
Robel. 

Of  nationalities,  Norwegians  predominated;  Swedish  next,  but 
few  Americans,  and  only  two  German  families  were  represented.  I 
found  the  refugees  to  be  rather  above  the  average  in  intelligence 
and  moral  tone,  well  behaved  and  sympathetic.  Saw  no  one  intox- 
icated during  their  stay  at  the  Bethel. 

After  the  first  week  many  of  the  places  where  refugees  were  pro- 
vided for  were  closed,  and  those  remaining  were  sent  to  the  Bethel, 
so  that  this  institution  was  the  last  to  close,  which  was  on  Sept.  26fh. 
During  this  time  from  Sept  2nd  to  26th,  three  hundred  and  sixty 
people  had  been  taken  care  of,  clothed  and  fed. 

The  most  important  rendezvous  for  the  fire  sufferers  and  really 
the  headquarters  of  the  Central  Relief  Committee's  operations,  was 
the  Armory  in  the  Howard  Block  on  Alichigan  street.  As  before 
mentioned  this  was  the  second  time  the  drill  room  of  Company  "C," 
was  called  upon  to  serve  the  purpose  of  refuge  for  fire  sufferers, 
the  first  occasion  being  the  Virginia  fire  on  the  Iron  Range.  In 
this  connection  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  mention  that  the  patri- 
otic members  of  Company  "C,"  Third  Infantry,  not  content  with 
turning  their  headquarters  into  an  asylum  for  the  needy,  volun- 
teered their  services  to  the  mayor  in  a  body  to  assist  the  fire  suf- 
ferers in  any  capacity  he  might  see  fit.  That  these  services  were 


262  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

not  called  upon  seems  strange,  as  they  might  for  the  first  few  days, 
at  least,  have  rendered  very  effective  assistance. 

A.  C.  .Batchelor  and  Col.  Geggie  secured  the  use  of  the  Armor)-  on 
Sunday  noon  (Sept.  2nd)  and  in  spite  of  the  fact  of  'business  houses 
being  closed  on  that  day,  by  6  o'clock  265  refugees  had  been  fur- 
nished with  a  substantial  meal,  and  as  many  as  desired  with  blankets 
and  mattresses  to  sleep  on.  The  kitchen  of  the  Armory  supplied 
not  only  meals  for  its  own  inmates,  but  for  those  of  the  Berkelman 
Block  also.  Besides  this,  it  was  the  outfitting  point  for  the  various 
relief  expeditions  on  the  3d,  4th,  and  5th.  This  depot  was  in  ac- 
tive charge  of  Col.  J.  B.  Geggie,  until  it  closed  on  the  first  day  of 
November. 

It  is  impossible  to  know  just  Ihow  many  refugees  were  entertained 
here,  but  it  is  certain  that  as  many  as  1,505  people  had  been  guests 
for  more  or  less  time  at  this  place  and  at  the  Berkelman  Block  to- 
gether. The  greatest  number  of  meals  supplied  in  any  one  day  was 
455,  and  total  number  of  meals  furnished  while  open,  17,912. 

In  closing  this  account  of  the  relief  work  at  Duluth,  it  must  be 
stated  that  great  embarrassment  has  been  experienced  mainly  on  ac- 
count of  the  .short  time  allowed  in  which  to  gather  and  collate  the 
materials  from  a  chaotic  mass  of  matter.  The  greatest  difficulty  has 
been  from  a  want  of  anything  like  a  correct  knowledge  of  the  names 
connected  with  the  most  interesting  experiences,  particularly  has 
this  been  the  case  with  the  more  subordinate  class  of  railroad  men,, 
the  so-called  "railroad  crews."  In  the  most  interesting  events 
mentioned  in  this  narrative,  these  men  were  heroes,  every  one  ol 
them,  and  their  names  would  have  been  gladly  displayed  witfli  Root's, 
Barry's  or  Best's,  with  those  of  Powers,  Sullivan,  McGowan  or  Blair 
if  we  could  only  have  had  them.  As  it  is  they  must  perforce  be  con- 
tent to  shine  by  the  reflected  light  of  their  superiors. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  the  active  relief  work  at  Duluth.  Where 
a  whole  community  turns  out  as  if  with  a  single  purpose,  it  is  mani- 
festly impossible  to  name  them  all,  hence,  many  good  and  great 
workers  are  thus  necessarily  left  out  of  the  prominence  in  these  de- 
tails that  by  right  belongs  to  them.  In  justice  to  the  compilers,  how 
ever,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  some  names  have  been  left  out  a- 
the  expressed  wish  of  their  owners.  And  then  it  must  be  remem 
bered  too,  that  the  compilers  of  this  narrative  have  made  it  a  poinr 
to  call  attention  to  deeds  only  upon  the  principle  that  when  deedi 
are  praiseworthy  they  praise  themselvp= 


JflXNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  263 

When  it  comes  to  the  work  of  Duluth  as  a  whole,  however,  it  is 
thought  that  the  citizens  generally  may  be  held  pardonable  for  the 
enjoyment  of  some  pride. 

The  financial  statement  given  above,  though  quite  a  remarkable 
exhibit  in  itself,  does  not  represent  the  full  value  of  the  relief  work 
d-one  by  the  people  of  Duluth. 

To  say  nothing  of  valuable  time  taken  from  business,  or  other  pur- 
suits and  freely  offered, — for  instance,  Chairman  Gridley  must  have 
devoted  the  best  business  part  of  three  months  to  the  work  of  his 
committee;  no  account  has,  properly  enough,  been  made  in  this 
statement,  of  the  tons  of  clothing,  wearing  apparel  and  other  sup- 
plies contributed  by  our  citizens  and  distributed  by  the  Ladies'  Relief 
Society  and  at  the  "Armory,"  nor  have  the  magnificent  donations  of 
lumber  through  Bishop  McGolrick  been  mentioned.  The  great  sup- 
plies of  beef,  of  groceries,  of  fuel,  of  telegraph,  telephone  and  gas  and 
water  service,  of  carriage  and  drayage,  the  free  use  of  rooms  and 
quarters,  all  so  liberally  donated  by  our  citizens,  could  not,  of 
course,  be  included  in  this  statement,,  but  these  things  all  represent  a 
cash  value  and  should  be  taken  into  account  in  a  general  summary. 
Another  item  which  is  necessarily  left  out  is  the  greatest  of  all,  viz., 
railroad  transportation.  The  compilers  will  not  attempt  a  computa- 
tion of  this  great  donation  in  dollars  and  cents,  in  one  sense  it  can- 
not be  so  considered.  The  opinion  is  ventured,  however,  that  were 
all  these  tilings  taken  into  account,  the  Duluth  Relief  Fund  tor  the 
fire  sufferers  would  reach  a  sum  nearer  $40,000  than  $20,000.  Then, 
if  the  estimate  that  has  been  made  is  correct,  viz.,  that  2,000  people 
from  the  burned  district  have  received  more  or  less  relief  from  Du- 
luth, it  follows  that  an  average  value  in  money  of  $20  per  capita  has 
been  the  cost  of  the  outlay. 

All  this,  when,  considering  the  great  stringency  of  money  matters 
and  the  commercial  depression  of  the  times,  certainly  shows  that  a 
genuine  spirit  of  self-sacrifice  is  always  ready  whenever  the  well- 
springs  of  the  human  heart  are  deeply  touched. 


264 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


COL.  GRAVES,  DULUTH. 


ST.  CLOUD. 

CT.  CLOUD  is  one  of  the  places  in  Minnesota  where  light  and 
sweetness  are  said  to  dwell.  It  is  the  seat  of  a  bishop  of  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  church,  has  a  great  normal  school,  daily  newspaper,  and 
a  reformatory.  It  is  in  direct  line  with  the  area  devastated  by  the 
great  fire.  From  St.  Cloud  every  day  trains  start  to  Hinckley,  and 
every  clay  trains  come  from  Hinckley  to  St.  Cloud.  A  large  number 
of  men  who  work  for  the  Great  Northern  Railway  Company  live  in 
this  city,  and  amongst  them,  officials  of  the  road.  All  this  kept  the 
people  informed  of  fires  which  were  burning  for  a  long  time  before 
the  fatal  day,  when  so  much  damage  was  done  and  so  many  lives 
were  destroyed.  News  had  come  that  there  were  fires  burning  in  the 
woods,  and  the  season  being  so  hot,  the  danger  of  their  spreading 
had  been  talked  about. 

St.  Cloud  had  had  experience  of  ruin  caused  by  a  cyclone  of  wind 
years  before,  which  took  place  at  Sauk  Rapids;  now  it  was  to  see 
what  a  veritable  cyclone  of  fire  could  do.  When  the  hour  came,  the 
people  of  St.  Cloud  proved  to  be  equal  to  the  opportunity,  and  with 
a  zeal  which  only  needs  to  be  known  to  excite  admiration,  the 
willing,  wise  and  sympathetic  help  given  was  indeed  as  a  hand  of 
mercy  in  a  time  of  dire  need.  The  committee  went  about  their  work 
in  a  business-like  way;  they  sent  a  competent  man  to  look  over  the 
wants  of  those  who  were  in  need,  drew  up  a  set  of  questions,  which 
left  nothing  to  be  desired;  each  and  all  who  had  to  do  with  the 
work  did  their  best.  The  people  of  Brook  Park ;  the  sufferers  in  and 
around  Milaca,  owe  to  the  mayor  of  St.  Cloud,  Mr.  D.  W.  Bruckart, 
to  Mr.  Alvah  Eastman,  to  Alderman  De  Leo,  and  the  other  members 
of  the  committee,  a  deep  debt  of  gratitude.  And  credit  must  be 
given  to  the  working  men  who  were  sent  out  from  St.  Cloud  to 
the  fire  district.  The  report  shows  in  part  what  was  done,  and  how; 
the  whole  it  cannot  tell,  because  words  cannot  show  all  that  love 
can  do.  Mr.  Ponsonby,  assistant  superintendent  on  the  Great  North- 
ern, had  a  telegraphic  apparatus  along  the  line.  He  tapped  the 


266  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

wires  as  the  work  of  reconstruction  proceeded.  This  telegraphic 
office  in  the  burnt  districts  was  a  blessing,  made  doubly  so  by  the 
ever  ready  kindness  of  the  genial  superintendent,  who  would  send  any 
message,  free  of  course,  and  with  such  a  sweet  manner  as  to  endear 
its  memory  to  many  whose  griefs  were  lessened  by  such  consideration. 

EXPRESS  ME3SEXQER  JOHX  SAXDERLUTS. 

You  have  requested  me  to  write  of  my  experience  and  whatever 
else  I  know  of  the  Hinckley  fire.  I  will  enclose  a  few  photographs 
which  may  be  of  use  to  you  in  your  book,  and  also  give  you  all  the 
information  I  have  relating  to  the  fire.  I  am  an  express  messenger 
for  the  Great  Northern  Express  Company,  on  the  St.  Cloud  and 
Hinckley  branch  of  the  Great  Northern  Railway  line.  On  the  first 
day  of  September,  1894,  accommodation  train  No.  45  left  St.  Cloud 
for  Hinckley  with  her  crew,  viz.:  E.  E.  Parr,  conductor,  William 
Yogel,  engineer,  Joseph  Laricher,  fireman,  John  Delaney,  B.  S.  Car- 
rier and  M.  J.  Whalen,  brakemen,  and  myself,  making  seven  in  all 
the  crew.  It  was  a  beautiful  clear  day,  but  very  warm  in  the  fore- 
noon, and  the  boys  were  congratulating  themselves  on  a  light  day's 
work. 

The  trip  was  uneventful  in  the  forenoon  until  we  reached  the  vicin- 
ity of  Brook  Park,  where  we  noticed  it  was  very  smoky;  in  fact,  it 
was  so  bad  that  the  engineer  had  to  slacken  speed,  and  we  had  to 
close  the  doors  of  the  car.  We  arrived  in  Hinckley  about  2  o'clock 
p.  m., — about  two  hours  late.  The  smoke  there  was  now  very  op- 
pressive and  the  boys  finished  their  switching  as  quickly  as  pos'sible. 
There  was  a  small  fire  blazing  back  of  the  Great  Northern  round 
house,  which  Agent  George  Surgeon  was  fighting  with  a  crew  of  men. 
There  were  no  loads  in  Hinckley  for  our  train,  so  the  engine  was 
coupled  to  the  baggage  car  and  coach,  and  the  air-brake  adjusted. 
We  were  all  feeling  good  at  the  idea  of  having  a  fast  ride  through  the 
smoke,  our  train  being  very  light.  When  all  was  ready  the  con- 
ductor called,  "Get  out  of  town!"  and  away  we  went,  little  dreaming 
of  the  terrible  danger  we  were  running  into. 

About  one  mile  out  of  Hinckley,  we  noticed  a  small  fire  burning 
in  the  timber  at  the  side  of  the  track,  then  all  of  a  sudden  everything 
was  ablaze,  as  gas  ignites  when  it  is  brought  in  contact  with  fire. 
The  very  air  seemed  to  be  burning.  The  train  thundered  through 
this  about  three  miles,  when  it  stopped.  The  engineer  saw  that  the 
Mission  Creek  bridge  was  almost  destroyed,  but  the  rails  were  still 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  267 

straight,  and  the  plucky  engineer  pulled  the  Fnrottle  open  and  started 
again.  We  were  taking  terrible  chances,  but  we  got  over  the  bridge 
all  right,  although  it  was  much  sagged,  when  we  went  over  it,  and  we 
thought  \ve  would  go  through  it,  but  we  were  not  destined  to  stop 
here.  On  we  went,  tumbling  and  rolling,  striking  dead  trees  and 
crooked  rails,  until  at  last  the  engine,  striking  a  crooked  rail,  plunged 
into  the  ditch,  taking  the  baggage  car  with  it,  leaving  the  coach  on 
the  dump. 

We  were  now  in  a  desperate  condition,  expecting  the  Eastern  Min- 
nesota passenger  train  to  crash  into  us,  as  we  could  not  flag  it  be- 
cause the  flames  were  so  bad  that  it  would  have  been  sure  death  then 
to  venture  outside  the  coach  for  one  minute.  We  did  not  know 
how  great  the  fire  was.  When  the  train  first  ditched,  the  conductor 
and  myself  were  in  the  baggage  car,  the  three  brakemen  being  in  the 
coach  with  the  passengers,  a  Mr.  Kingsley,  an  advance  agent  for  the 
Wells  Theater  Company,  and  an  old  man  named  Carver,  living  at 
Brook  Park,  whither  he  was  then  bound. 

When  the  train  ditched,  we  got  a  very  bad  shaking  up,  as  well  in 
body  as  in  mind,  and  I  turned  toward  the  conductor  and  said,  "I 
guess  we  are  done  for  now!"  "I  guess  so,"  said  Ed,  quietly.  Then 
I  asked  him  what  we  would  better  do  to  save  ourselves,  and  he  said 
that  it  would  be  better  to  dig  a  hole  in  the  ground  and  get  into  it, 
which  was  much  easier  said  than  done,  as  we  found  out  later  on.  But 
I  got  a  couple  of  shovels,  and  handing  him  one  of  them,  we  started 
to  go  out,  but  no  sooner  had  we  opened  the  door  than  we  were 
overwhelmed  by  flames  and  hot  air  rushing  into  the  car,  and  we  had 
to  give  up  this  idea  entirely.  The  conductor  then  started  for  the 
coach,  which  he  reached  in  safety,  and  I  started  after  as  quick  as  I 
could.  We  both  burned  our  hands  and  faces  badly. 

The  wind  was  now  blowing  a  hurricane  and  the  flames  were  shoot- 
ing in  through  every  crack  and  crevice  on  the  coach  around  the 
windows  and  doors.  The  cushions  of  the  coach  then  caught  fire, 
and  we  had  to  throw  them  out  to  keep  the  fire  from  spreading.  The 
flames  were  getting  much  \vorse  and  we  gave  up  all  hopes  of  getting 
out  of  there  alive.  We  all  laid  on  the  floor  to  avoid,  as  much  as 
possible,  the  heat  that  came  from  the  windows,  and  were  trying  to 
settle  our  accounts  with  our  Maker  while  we  had  time.  But  fortune 
favored  us  again,  when  brakeman  Whalen  thought  of  the  water  in  the 
engine  tank,  and  called  for  volunteers  to  help  him  save  the  coaches 
which  were  on  fire  underneath.  Of  course  everybody  was  glad  to 


268 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MAYOR  BRUCKHART. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  269 

do  what  they  could  to  save  themselves,  so  we  got  a  couple  of  pails 
and  started  at  it  in  a  novel  but  safe  way,  two  going  out  at  a  time 
and  throwing  a  pail  or  two  of  water  on  the  fire,  then  struggling  in 
again,  when  two  more  would  take  their  places.  After  an  hour's  hard 
fight,  we  at  last  got  control  of  the  fire  under  the  cars. 

While  this  hard  fight  for  life  was  going  on,  the  conductor  went  to 
see  if  the  engineer  and  fireman  were  alive.  He  found  that  they 
were  both  alive,  lying  on  the  deck  of  the  engine  with  the  water  of 
the  tank  turned  on  them. 

I  wish  to  give  William  Vogel  all  the  credit  possible,  he  being  a 
young  engineer  and  running  right  into  the  fire  to  avoid  the  east- 
bound  passenger  train,  which  would  have  brought  certain  destruction, 
not  only  to  his  crew,  but  the  crew  of  the  other  passenger  train 
which  was  expected  right  behind  him.  This  was  a  brave  and  noble 
deed, 

After  we  had  the  fire  under  control,  we  noticed  two  men  coming 
down  the  track,  one  partially  carrying  the  other.  When  they  came 
up  to  the  car,  we  learned  that  they  were  Thomas  Gorman  and  his 
son,  section  men  of  the  Great  Northern  Railway.  The  boy  had 
dragged  his  father  almost  a  mile  through  the  dense  smoke  and  falling 
cinders  to  the  train  which  they  expected  to  be  ditched,  having  been 
under  bridge  Eighty-four  when  we  passed  over  it.  The  boy  after 
saving  the  bridge,  took  his  father  to  the  wrecked  train  and  then 
started  right  back  to  see  if  the  rest  of  the  family  were  all  right,  a 
deed  which  not  one  in  a  thousand  would  have  done  under  the  cir- 
cumstances. 

About  5  o'clock  that  evening,  after  the  fire  had  subsided  a  little, 
we  all  started  for  Brook  Park,  except  Mr.  Gorman,  who  could  not 
walk,  to  find  shelter  and  supper.  But  on  arriving  there,  we  were  not 
only  disappointed,  but  horrified  to  find  the  town  in  ashes,  as  well  as 
many  of  the  citizens  burned  to  death.  Such  a  scene  I  hope  none  of 
the  readers  of  your  book  will  have  to  gaze  upon. 

In  a  little  pool,  about  twenty-five  feet  square,  we  found  twenty- 
three  people,  men,  women  and  children.  They  were  in  a  terrible  con- 
dition, with  not  sufficient  life  left  in  them  to  get  out  of  it.  Their 
suffering  must  have  been  awful,  as  they  were  surrounded  by  fire  on 
all  sides.  The  railroad  bridge  above  them  was  burning,  and  the  burn- 
ing timbers  fell  in  amongst  them.  It  seems  almost  a  miracle  that 
they  escaped  death.  Even  the  clothes  were  burned  off  their  backs. 
Besides  this  bridge  burning  near  them,  the  pool  was  surrounded  by 


270  MINNESOTA  FOREST  PIPES. 

a  saw  mill,  log  camp  and  section  house,  and  an  old  dam  close  by. 
These  were  burning  intensely  on  every  side  and  imagine  the  situa- 
tion ;  even  the  fishes  in  the  pool  died  from  the  effects  of  the  heat. 

Besides  all  their  physical  tortures,  these  people  in  the  pool  were 
constantly  on  the  watch  for  our  train,  which  they  expected  every 
moment  to  rush  in  and  destroy,  not  only  them,  but  our  crew  also. 
Happily  events  turned  out  differently. 

Conductor  Parr,  seeing  the  terrible  plight  these  people  were  in,  for- 
got his  own  troubles  and  got  them  out  of  the  pool,  bringing  jhein 
to  our  train  where  they  stayed  over  night,  having  reached  there 
about  7  o'clock.  We  made  them  as  comfortable  as  possible  under 
the  circumstances;  nevertheless  this  night  will  never  be  forgotten 
by  me  or  any  one  there. 

The  cries  of  the  children,  and  the  moans  and  groans  of  the  men 
and  women,  were  something  terrible;  pen  cannot  describe  it.  The 
smoke  and  air  were  suffocating  in  the  extreme  and  the  heat  terrible. 
We  placed  wet  clothes  over  their  faces  and  in  their  mouths  every 
five  minutes. 

That  night  seemed  an  age  to  me,  as  I  could  not  sleep.  About  5 
o'clock  the  day  dawned,  and  the  engineer,  fireman,  conductor,'  pas- 
senger Kingsley  and  myself  started  to  walk  to  Hinckley,  leaving  the 
three  brakemen  asleep,  and  the  rest  of  the  people  in  the  coach.  The 
smoke  was  still  suffocating,  and  we  had  to  fill  our  mouths  with  waste 
which  we  had  to  dip  in  a  pail  of  water.  The  first  thing  we  found  on 
arriving  at  Hinckley,  was  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  cars  of  wheat 
burning,  which  gave  out  such  a  heat  that  we  had  to  avoid  it,  by  at 
least  two  blocks  to  the  south.  The  Great  Northern  round  house,  coal 
shed  and  water  tank  were  the  only  building  left  in  Hinckley.  We 
found  some  bread  and  crackers  which  we  ate  greedily,  being  very 
hungry. 

The  only  living  thing  we  saw  from  the  round  house,  was  a  man 
leading  a  cow  along  the  railway  track  toward  Pine  City.  After  ask- 
ing him,  he  gave  Conductor  Parr  permission  to  milk  the  cow,  which 
he  did,  and  sent  the  milk  in  one  of  the  pails  with  the  crackers  and 
bread,  we  had  found  at  the  round  house,  to  the  sufferers  on  the 
track.  You  most  probably  know  that  we  saw  at  Hinckley  nothing 
but  death  and  destruction  on  every  side. 

We  then  took  a  relief  train  on  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  Railroad, 
which  happened  along  just  then,  and  were  taken  to  Pine  City,  where 
we  were  well  fed  and  cared  for  by  the  kind  people  of  that  town. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  271 

On  our  arrival  at  Pine  City,  we  at  once  sent  relief  to  Brook  Park 
and  the  sufferers  on  our  train.  That  afternoon  we  went  to  St.  Paul, 
and  from  there  home  to  St.  Cloud,  thanking  God  that  we  were 
alive  and  on  earth.  We  must  not  forget  to  mention  Peter  Clarity, 
assistant  road  master,  who  worked  a  crew  of  men  at  Brook  Park, 
fixing  up  the  track,  for  almost  a  month,  enduring  many  hardships. 
We  might  mention  M.  E.  Cantillon  as  being  instrumental  in  saving 
many  lives  and  considerable  property,  as  he  ran  a  water  train  be- 
tween Milaca  and  Mora,  and  carried  many  people  from  the  scene 
of  fire  to  a  place  of  safety,  and  also  fought  fire  along  the  line  for 
about  three  weeks  after  the  Hinckley  holocaust. 

It  is  very  hard  for  me  to  write  stories  as  they  ought  to  be  written, 
and  especially  about  this  Hinckley  fire,  which  ordinary  words  cannot 
express,  so  please  put  this  information  in  your  own  words,  and  if 
you  wish  to  learn  anything  more  and  I  can  help  you,  I  will  gladly 

do  so. 

BELIEF  WORK. 

The  people  of  St.  Cloud  deserve  very  great  credit  for  the  part  they 
took  in  relief  work.  Being  on  the  Great  Northern  Railroad  they  had 
easy  access  to  all  the  places  between  their  city'  and  Hinckley.  From 
the  time  the  first  news  of  the  fire  reached  them,  to  the  close  of  their 
work,  the  interest  in  the  sufferers  never  failed,  and  all  their  work 
was  done  in  a  way  which  calls  for  high  praise.  The  official  report 
to  the  state  committee  is  to  be  seen  in  the  state  report.  The  mayor 
of  St.  Cloud,  D.  W.  Bruckart;  Mr.  Alvah  Eastman  and  Alderman 
DeLeo,  as  well  as  other  members  of  the  committee,  worked  with  an 
enthusiasm  and  a  thoroughness  which  left  nothing  to  be  desired. 

It  was  Saturday  afternoon,  September  first,  when  news  came  to  St. 
Cloud  that  the  villages  of  Foreston  and  Milaca,  on  the  St.  Cloud  and 
Hinckley  branch  of  the  Great  Northern  Road,  were  in  danger  of 
destruction  by  fire.  Immediately  a  train,  consisting  principally  of 
water  cars,  was  sent  to  their  relief,  with  Division  Superintendent  Pon- 
sonby  in  charge.  The  train  proceeded  as  far  as  Foreston,  where  the 
railroad  bridge  was  found  to  be  on  fire.  This  was  saved  after  a  hard 
fight,  but  it  was  found  impracticable  to  proceed  further. 

Leaving  a  part  of  the  crew  to  protect  the  bridge  from  fires,  which 
were  still  burning  near,  the  train  returned  to  St.  Cloud  for  reinforce- 
ments, and  soon  another  train  was  sent  out,  containing  a  number 
of  bridge  builders  to  replace  the  bridges  known  to  have  been  burned. 
On  Saturday,  this  train  succeeded  in  getting  as  far  as  Brook  Park, 


272 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


JOHN  F.  BRADFORD. 


ALVAH  EASTMAN. 


^^^j^^1 


JOHN  CHOATES. 


H.  J.  ANDERSON. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  273 

and  there  for  the  first  time  learned  of  the  fearful  terrors  of  the  fires. 
The  train  men  did  heroic  work  and  brought  the  Brook  Park  suffer- 
ers to  Mora,  where  an  improvised  hospital  had  been  made  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  they  were  given  the  best  care 
possible. 

The  village  of  Milaca  had  been  saved  by  hard  work,  but  the  farm- 
ers surrounding  it  met  with  severe  losses,  many  of  their  homes  being 
destroyed,  as  \vell  as  their  year's  work,  consisting  of  logs  and  ties 
and  all  their  crops. 

All  Sunday  the  people  of  St.  Cloud  were  vainly  endeavoring  to 
learn  the  extent  of  the  fire.  Efforts  were  made  to  reach  Milaca  and 
other  places  nearest  the  fire,  but  without  avail,  because  the  telegraph, 
poles  and  wires  were  burned  down.  St.  Paul  was  tried,  nothing 
definite  was  learned  except  that  a  relief  train  was  being  sent  out. 

Vague  rumors  were  received  of  the  destruction  of  Hinckley,  with 
great  loss  of  life.  It  was  generally  believed  that  so  great  a  holocaust 
was  impossible.  The  reality,  however,  was  much  worse  than  the 
first  reports.  Enough  had  been  learned  to  warrant  prompt  action 
for  measures  of  relief. 

Mayor  Bruckart,  Sunday  afternoon,  called  a  meeting  of  citizens  at 
the  Grand  Central  Hotel,  which  was  largely  attended.  It  was  then 
decided  to  send  a  special  train  to  Brook  Park  as  soon  as  possible. 

At  7:30  the  next  morning,  Monday,  a  special  meeting  of  the  city 
council  was  held,  and  committees  appointed  to  purchase  food,  cots 
and  clothing;  it  was  also  decided  to  send  physicians  and  trained 
nurses.  At  12:45,  tne  tram  pulled  out  on  its  errand  of  mercy.  On 
board  were  Aldermen  Anderson,  Atwood,  DeLeo,  Donohue,  Thurs- 
dale,  and  Stewart,  City  Clerk  James  A.  Martin,  Street  Commissioner 
Lorenser  with  a  crew  of  men,  Dr.  Junk  and  Dr.  Boehm  and  two 
nurses.  The  mayor  distributed  all  over  the  city,  by  his  policemen, 
the  following  appeal,  which  also  appeared  in  the  evening  papers: 

MAYOR'S  OFFICE,  ST.  CLOUD,  MINN.,  Sept.  3,  1894. 

There  is  much  suffering,  the  result  of  forest  fires  that  have  lately 
swept  over  the  country  round  about  Hinckley.  We  this  day  sent 
a  car  load  of  provisions  to  Brook  Park.  They  need  clothing  and 
bedding.  We  will  send  teams  to  your  doors  at  about  5  o'clock  this 
afternoon  to  receive  such  contributions  as  you  feel  able  to  make. 
Have  them  read}-.  D.'  W.  BRUCKART, 

The  people  of  St.  Cloud  responded  generously,  and  Tuesday  morn- 


274  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

ing  another  car  load  of  food  and  clothing  was  sent  to  the  afflicted 
people  at  Brook  Park.  The  following  day,  Wednesday,  Septem- 
ber fifth,  the  city  council  held  another  special  meeting  and  decided 
to  appoint  a  relief  committee  to  receive  contributions  and  take  charge 
of  the  work  of  relief  on  behalf  of  the  citizens  of  St.  Cloud.  Aldermen 
H.  J.  Anderson,  John  DeLeo,  J.  F.  Bradford,  and  Messrs.  John 
Coats  and  Alvah  Eastman  were  appointed  such  committee.  That 
same  evening  these  gentlemen  met  and  organized,  with  Alderman 
Anderson  as  chairman,  and  Alvah  Eastman  secretary.  The  follow- 
ing appeal  was  then  issued. 

The  undersigned  committee  has  been  designated  by  the  common 
council  to  take  charge  of  all  matters  pertaining  to  collecting  and  dis- 
tributing money,  provisions  and  other  property  to  the  unfortunate 
people  who  suffered  severe  losses  in  the  recent  forest  fires  between 
Bridgman  and  Hinckley,  and  particularly  at  Pokegama.  There  are 
twenty-seven  families  at  the  latter  place,  comprising  117  souls,  who 
have  lost  everything  but  their  lives,  none  of  them  having  saved 
sufficient  clothing  to  afford  necessary  protection  against  the  ele- 
ments. At  this  writing  twenty-five  of  their  neighbors  and  friends 
have  been  found  charred  corpses,  and  a  few  are  yet  missing.  A  num- 
ber of  families,  estimated  at  about  twenty,  who  resided  in  the  vicinity 
of  Bridgman  and  Milaca,  have  lost  their  homes  and  are  in  need  of 
assistance.  This  committee  will  co-operate  with  similar  committees 
from  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  and  Duluth  with  a  view  to  doing  the 
greatest  possible  amount  of  good  with  the  money  and  other  con- 
tributions placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  committee. 

Cash  contributions  can  be  handed  to  any  member  of  the  committee, 
and  a  complete  list  will  be  published  daily.  Clothing,  bedding,  house- 
hold goods  and  provisions  will  be  received  daily  at  the  McCormick 
warehouse,  or  will  be  called  for,  if  request  is  made  to  a  member  of 
this  committee  or  at  the  office  of  John  Coates. 

We  trust  that  this  community  will  respond  with  such  liberality 
as  will  show  that  it  has  not  forgotten  the  generous  aid  extended 
to  it,  at  the  time  of  the  cyclone  of  1886. 

H.  J.  ANDERSEN,  Chairman. 

J.  F.  BRADFORD, 

JOHN  DE  LEO, 

JOHN  COATES, 

ALVAH  EASTMAN,  Secretary." 

From  that  moment  everything  moved  as  by  clockwork.     The  care 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  275 

of  the  fire  sufferers  in  Milaca  and  vicinity  was  given  into  the  hands 
of  the  St.  Cloud  committee  exclusively,  by  the  state  committee,  and 
the  work  was  set  about  in  a  way  which  would  ensure  two  things 
at  once, — full  knowledge  of  the  losses  and  needs  of  the  sufferers,  and 
an  adequate  amount  of  relief.  The  following  form  prepared  by  the 
committees  will  s'how  how  the  whole  purpose  was  covered.  It  may 
be  safely  said  that  those  who  were  most  interested, — people  burned 
out  of  their  homes,  the  persons  who  subscribed  the  funds,  and  the 
state  committee,  were  all  satisfied  with  the  result.  That  the  St. 
Cloud  people  might  see  how  complete  was  the  destruction  in  the 
burned  district,  the  committee  arranged  an  excursion,  and  the 
money  made  was  given  to  the  fire  sufferers,  as  will  be  seen  from 
the  list  of  subscriptions  in  cash,  here  printed.  In  addition  to  this 
there  were  large  gifts  of  all  kinds  of  food,  clothing  and  goods. 

SUBSCRIPTIONS  AND  EXCURSIONS  RECEIPTS. 

Proceeds  from  the  Hinckley  excursion,  $457.28;  employes  of 
Great  Northern  shops,  $155.25;  Foley  Bros.,  $100;  George  Tileston, 
$50;  First  National  Bank,  $50;  students  and  teachers  of  State  Nor- 
mal School,  St.  Cloud,  $31.50;  A.  Barto,  $25;  Knights  of  Pythias 
Lodge,  $25 ;  Merchants'  National  Bank,  $25 ;  pupils  of  the  Immacu- 
late Conception  school,  $22.50;  the  City  School  teachers,  $21.75;  tf16 
pupils  of  the  Pro-Cathedral  school,  $20.26;  Catholic  Order  of  Fores- 
ters, $15;  Sisters  of  the  Order  of  St.  Benedict,  St.  Joseph,  Minn.,  $15; 
citizens  of  Maine  Prairie,  $13.07;  St.  Stephen's  Ladies'  Aid  Society, 
of  New  Paynesville,  $10;  J.  W.  Metzroth,  $10;  Mathias  Weirens, 
$10;  Journal-Press  Company,  $10;  Daily  Times,  $10;  John  M. 
Schwartz,  cashier,  $10;  Henry  Munsinger,  $10^  C.  F.  Powell,  $10; 
W.  B.  Mitchell,  $10;  James  F.  Bradford,  $10;  M.  Majerous,  $10; 
Royal  Arcanum  Lodge,  $10;  Mrs.  Catharine  Eiche,  $5;  John  G. 
Mihemitch,  $5;  Jesse  A.  Chase,  $5;  a  "Friend."  Racine,  Wis.,  $5; 
A.  D.  Deane,  $4;  Earl  C.  Scott,  $2;  cash  donation,  $i;  Mrs.  J.  B. 
Getchell,  $i. 


276 


M[NNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


H.  H.  HART,  SECRETARY  STATE  COMMISSION. 


MORA. 

\ /[  ORA  is  the  town  nearest  Quamba,  where  the  fire  that  destroyed 
Brook  Park  started,  and  was  itself  in  fear  of  being  burned. 
The  people  here  knew  many  of  the  dead;  had  had  business  with 
them,  and  so  there  was  a  oneness  of  interest  and  of  feeling.  Be- 
ing settlers  in  a  comparatively  new  country,  they  knew  just  how  to 
commiserate  the  afflictions  of  those  who  had  lost  their  homes  and 
friends,  and  they  proved  their  knowledge  by  their  deeds.  The  peo- 
ple of  Brook  Park  have  a  warm  place  in  their  hearts  for  the  men 
and  women  of  Mora. 

What  the  "Times"  says: 

"What  a  transformation !  What  desolation  can  be  wrought  in  the 
short  space  of  a  day.  WTiat  a  devilish  incarnate  fiend  a  fire  can  be 
when  driven  forward  by  a  tornado.  Last  Saturday  was  a  dreadful 
day  in  the  history  of  Minnesota.  The  lively,  hustling  town  of  Hinck- 
ley,  containing  upwards  of  twelve  hundred  souls,  wras  completely 
wiped  off  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  six  hundred  of  her  people  per- 
ished by  smoke  and  flames.  Their  charred  and  ghastly  remains  strewn 
on  the  streets,  by  the  door-ways,  in  the  pools  and  along  the  railroad 
tracks,  told  a  tale  of  suffering  that  brought  tears  from  the  stoutest 
hearted  and  grief  to  many  a  family.  Many  of  the  survivors  of  that 
holocaust  are  maimed  for  life  ;.nd  will  carry  scars  to  their  graves. 
Whole  families  perished.  Some  families  were  partly  destroyed  and 
mothers  and  fathers  were  crazed  with  grief  for  the  loss  of  their 
children,  while  many  children  were  orphaned. 

Hinckley  was  an  industry  within  itself,  kept  up  mainly  by  the 
big  saw  mill  owned  by  the  Brennan  Lumber  Company.  That,  to- 
gether with  the  railroad  business,  kept  a  good  many  people  employed, 
but  the  million  dollars'  w7orth  of  property  has  disappeared. 

The  fires  came  from  the  southeast  and  with  such  a  sudden,  fierce 
velocity  that  the  citizens  were  completely  terrified.  It  struck  the 
town  about  2:30  p.  m.,  when  the  Eastern  Minnesota  train,  with  Con- 
ductor Powers,  was  just  ready  to  pull  out.  The  citizens  massed  on 


278  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

to  his  train  and  implored  him  to  save  them.  He  coupled  on  some 
box  cars  and  pulled  out  nearly  five  hundred  souls  to  Duluth.  The 
St.  Paul  &  Duluth  limited,  which  dashed  into  the  flames  pulled  out  a 
large  number  to  Skunk  Lake.  Arriving  there,  the  train  was  aban- 
doned to  the  fire,  and  the  passengers,  who  were  not  too  much  ex- 
hausted, managed  to  save  themselves  by  getting  into  the  lake. 

Those  left  at  Hinckley  were  driven  into  a  pond  at  the  gravel  pit 
and  the  river  near  by,  where  some  survived,  while  others  were 
tramped  to  death  by  cattle,  horses  and  other  animals.  When  the 
fire  had  spent  its  force,  some  of  those  who  were  able  struck  out  for 
Pine  City  for  relief,  which  came  on  the  next  morning  and  took  the 
survivors  to  Pine  City. 

The  first  news  of  the  terrible  disaster  was  brought  to  Mora  by 
Anton  Smith  from  Pine  City.  His  report  seemed  almost  incredible, 
but  later  reports  increased  the  calamity  ten-fold.  Mora  was  cut  off 
from  communication  with  Hinckley,  the  bridges  and  a  great  extent 
of  railroad  track  and  the  telegraph  wires  had  been  consumed,  hence 
it  was  impossible  to  get  any  early  information  over  that  line. 

Ole  Nelson,  section  foreman,  with  his  crew,  started  promptly  for 
Brook  Park,  and  arrived  there  early  Sunday  morning.  When  they 
got  to  the  station  they  found  everything  in  ashes,  and  about  sixty 
people  homeless,  many  of  them  suffering  with  blistered  hands  and 
feet,  and  surrounded  by  smoke.  They  were  undoubtedly  the  first 
persons  on  the  scene  after  the  disaster.  They  divided  their  dinners 
among  the  sufferers,  who  had  been  without  anything  to  eat  from 
the  previous  day,  and  then  returned  to  Mora,  bringing  with  them 
on  the  hand  car  Joseph  Gonyea,  William  Thompson,  and  Frank  Lit- 
tengarver.  Joseph  Gonyea,  who  was  badly  burned  about  the  hands 
and  feet,  was  placed  in  the  town  hall  and  well  cared  for  until  the 
church  could  be  got  ready.  William  Thompson  and  Frank  Lit- 
tengarver,  being  uninjured,  were  sent  to  Minneapolis  at  their  own  re- 
quest, their  fares  being  paid  by  the  Mora  relief  committee. 

A  relief  party  was  made  up  immediately  and  dispatched  with  pro- 
visions, two  hand  cars  and  a  push  car,  to  the  scene  of  disaster.  Dr. 
Cowan  preceded  them  on  a  velocipede  with  medicine  and  bandages 
for  the  sufferers.  Right  behind  them  came  the  work  train  from  St. 
Cloud,  which  proceeded  as  far  as  it  could,  and  that  night  the  families 
of  Wright,  Kelsey,  Hans  Nelson  and  Mrs.  Fream  and  children  were 
brought  in,  the  others  remaining  there  to  be  attended  on  the  mor- 
row. 


MIXXESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  279 

The  church  was  thrown  open  by  the  Rev.  Thompson  as  a  hospital. 
Bedding,  blankets  and  clothing  were  contributed  by  our  citizens,  also 
provisions;  and  the  ladies  of  the  town  were  out  en  masse  to  render 
all  the  assistance  in  their  power  to  the  sufferers. 

Monday  morning  the  village  council  convened  and  took  action. 
A  relief  committee  was  appointed  and  fifty  dollars  was  appropriated 
from  the  treasury  to  meet  the  immediate  needs.  The  committee  ap- 
pointed were:  Rev.  J.  Thompson,  T.  B.  Vickery  and  Andrew  Lar- 
son. 

Mayor  Smith,  of  St.  Paul,  was  notified  of  the  calamity,  and  aid 
solicited  for  the  sufferers.  A  relief  train  came  on  from  St.  Cloud  on 
Monday  afternoon,  loaded  with  everything  necessary  to  make  the 
people  comfortable,  and  lumber  to  make  coffins  for  the  dead,  and  to 
construct  houses  for  the  survivors.  Dr.  Boehm,  of  St.  Cloud,  and 
Rev.  Barnes,  of  Milaca,  came  with  the  train ;  also  two  trained  nurses. 
Dr.  Kelsey's  family  were  brought  to  Mora,  and  with  the  family  of 
Wright  Kelsey,  went  to  St.  Paul. 

Aid  was  offered  the  Russian  sufferers  at  Brook  Park,  thirty-two 
in  number;  but  they  objected  to  remaining  longer  in  that  place,  and 
through  the  intercession  of  Rev.  Thompson,  were  permitted  to  pro- 
ceed to  Mora,  thence  to  St.  Paul,  to  which  place  the  Great  Northern 
transported  them  free  of  charge. 

THE  VICTIMS  OF  BROOK  PARK. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  dead  found  up  to  date: 

Thomas  Raymond,  wife,  and  three  children. 

Charles  Anderson,  wife,  and  three  children,  and  Mrs.  Anderson's 
brother  and  sister. 

Fred  Molander,  wrife,  and  three  children,  and  Miss  Olson,  sister 
of  Mrs.  Molander. 

Oscar  Larson  and  sister. 
David  Goodsell,  Charles  Whitney,  James  Barnes,  and  J.  Brennan. 

Eleven  of  these  bodies  were  found  on  Tuesday  in  a  tamarack 
swamp  by  the  searching  party,  and  were  supposed  to  be  Mrs.  Ander- 
son and  her  three  children,  her  brother  and  sister,  T.  Raymond,  wife 
and  three  children.  The  Molander  family  was  found  close  by  their 
home  burned  to  cinders.  J.  Breman's  body  was  identified  by  a  new 
pair  of  boots.  Mr.  Barnes,  who  perished,  belonged  to  St.  Paul,  to 
which  place  his  remains  were  carried  on  Tuesday,  accompanied  by  his 
sister,  who  had  come  to  take  charge  of  them. 


280 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


BISHOP  WHIPPLE,  D.  D.,  L.  L.  D. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  281 

The  injured  are:  Dr.  Kelsey,  hands  and  eyes  burned;  Joseph 
Gonyea,  hands  and  feet  burned;  Wright  Kelsey,  bltnded  by  the 
smoke;  two  Rosenberger  children,  burned  feet  and  eyes,  and  many 
others  blinded  by  heat  and  smoke. 

Among  those  in  the  relief  party  from  St.  Cloud  was  Dr.  J.  C. 
Boehm.  Rev.  Thompson  is  authority  for  the  statement  that  no  one 
could  watch  the  doctor  as  he  moved  among  the  sick  and  wounded, 
without  being  impressed  with  the  fact  that  he  was  in  deep  sympathy 
with  the  afflicted,  and  that  he  was  a  skillful,  experienced  physician. 
The  burial  of  the  dead  who  are  interred  as  fast  as  found,  is  in  charge 
of  Rev.  William  Wilkinson,  of  Minneapolis. 

The  Fream  family's  escape  was  almost  miraculous.  They  were  out 
picking  berries,  and  the  fire  coming  on  them  suddenly,  sought  shelter 
in  a  ditch,  where  they  found  water  sufficient  to  wet  cloths  and  hold  to 
their  mouths  while  lying  flat  on  the  ground,  and  the  fire  passed  over 
them  without  doing  any  serious  injury. 

Some  sought  refuge  in  wells,  and  others  went  into  the  Pokegama 
creek,  where  they  were  saved  by  diving  and  splashing  water  on  them- 
selves. To  give  all  the  incidents  connected  with  this  awful  calamity 
is  not  within  our  ability,  time  or  space.  The  tales  of  suffering  and 
escape  will  be  told  by  the  survivors  for  years  to  come. 

Messrs.  Kelsey  &  Markham  and  all  the  others  are  loud  in  their 
praises  of  the  citizens  of  Mora  for  the  deep  interest  manifested  for 
the  victims  of  Brook  Park;  while  Rev.  Thompson  for  his  genuine 
sympathy  and  untiring  work  in  the  relief  of  the  sufferers,  has  been 
praised  on  all  sides.  He  is  doing  heroic  service  and  has  a  true  con- 
ception of  his  noble  profession. 

The  thanks  of  the  sufferers  are  also  extended  to  all  the  good  peo- 
ple of  the  surrounding  cities,  who  have  heartily  responded  with  a 
practical  sympathy  that  should  come  in  a  time  like  this.  The  relief 
committee  extend  special  thanks,  to  the  following  gentlemen  for 
cash  subscriptions  so  far: 

Hon.  R.  C.  Dunn,  Princeton $25.00 

Mattson  &  Blakely,  Lawrence   10.00 

Clarence  Vinton,  Lawrence 4.00 

Joseph  Carter,  Lawrence   i.oo 

-     V 

Brook  Park  (Pokegama  Station)  was  a  new  town,  not  much  over 
a  year  old.  There  had  already  been  erected  a  saw  mill  which  had  on 
hand  three  hundred  thousand  feet  of  lumber,  a  hotel,  a  store,  post 


282  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

office,  and  a  handsome  two-story  school  house,  besides  some  family 
dwellings;  and  the  country  was  being  developed  by  a  hard  working 
class  of  citizens.  This  property  with  the  homes  of  twenty-five  farm- 
ers, twenty  head  of  horses,  thirty  head  of  cattle  and  five  hundred  tons 
of  hay,  was  totally  destroyed  and  not  one  cent  of  insurance  on  any 
of  it. 

The  Great  Northern  Railroad  Company's  loss  is  extensive.  Al- 
most every  bridge  from  Mud  Creek  to  the  other  side  of  Kettle  River 
was  destroyed.  The  ties  for  a  long  distance  between  Brook  Park 
and  Hinckley  will  have  to  be  replaced  by  new  ones,  and  many  miles 
of  rail  will  have  to  be  replaced. 

Besides  the  destruction  of  Hinckley  and  Brook  Park,  were  the 
towns  of  Sandstone  and  Mission  Creek;  Milaca  was  scorched,  and 
about  twenty-five  settlers  in  that  vicinity  rendered  homeless.  The 
relief  train  sent  from  Princeton  to  Mora  in  charge  of  Hon.  R.  C. 
Dunn  and  C.  T.  Johnson  was  crdered  back  to  Milaca  to  feed  and 
clothe  the  sufferers,  it  having  been  found  that  it  was  most  needed 
there. 

The  work  of  reconstruction  is  going  ahead  at  a  rapid  rate.  The 
Great  Northern  has  a  work  train  at  the  front,  with  upwards  of  one 
hundred  men,  and  timbers,  ties  and  rails  are  being  put  in  place  as 
fast  as  the  men  can  handle  them.  Assistant  Superintendent  Ponson- 
by  has  charge  of  the  reconstruction.  Kelsey  &  Markham  made  the 
statement  that  Brook  Park  will  be  rebuilt,  as  it  is  backed  up  by  large 
wealth  and  too  much  has  already  been  invested  there  to  be  deserted 
by  any  calamity. 

The  family  of  John  Currie  and  Dr.  E.  L.  Stephan  were  carried 
out  to  Duluth  on  the  Eastern  Minnesota  train.  They  have  since  re- 
turned to  Pine  City,  where  Mrs.  Currie  lies  in  a  critical  condition  at 
the  home  of  A.  Pennington.  They  lost  everything  they  'had  except- 
ing a  cow,  which  for  some  reason  passed  through  the  fire  without 
much  harm. 

Dr.  Cowan  was  a  heavy  loser.  He  lost  his  library,  surgical  instru- 
ments, office  fixtures,  clothing,  a  large  interest  in  the  Currie  drug 
store,  and  his  residence. 

Angus  Hay's  newspaper  plant,  the  Enterprise,  was  wiped  out. 
The  Enterprise  will  be  missed  by  a  host  of  readers,  and  particularly 
by  its  exchanges.  Mr.  Hay  had  a  narrow  escape  from  death. 

Hans  Nelson,  the  section  foreman  at  Book  Park,  lost,  besides  his 
other  property,  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars  in  money  which 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  283 

he  had  in  a  trunk.  He  tried  to  save  the  trunk,  but  had  to  drop  it 
to  save  his  life. 

George  \V.  Marchant  and  Mr.  Geesaman,  members  of  the  state 
relief  committee,  are  here  today  looking  after  the  needs  of  the 
sufferers. 

Among  the  victims  of  the  late  fire  at  Hinckley  were  the  two 
daughters  of  Swan  P.  Hanson,  of  Rice  Lake,  and  Maggie  Xyberg, 
of  Brunswick. 

P.  R.  Gray  returned  home  from  his  trip  to  Sandstone  last  Saturday, 
accompanied  by  Carl  Staples  and  family,  who  were  losers  in  the 
Sandstone  fire.  The  family  was  well  provided  with  clothing  by  the 
Mora  relief  committee. 

^  Eric  Ericson,  one  of  the  heaviest  farmers  in  the  town  of  Comfort, 
lost  his  house  and  barn  and  eighty  tons  of  hay  by  forest  fires  on 
Wednesday.  His  lost  is  estimated  about  thirty  thousand  five  hun- 
dred drlla.-s.  He  carried  an  insurance  of  about  two  thousand  dollars. 
Comfort  is  a  town  only  a  few  miles  from  Mora. 

Joseph  Genyea,  one  of  the  Brook  Park  sufferers,  was  taken  to  St. 
Cloul  by  Rev.  Thompson  last  Friday  and  placed  in  St.  Raphael's 
hospital. 

John  Currie,  one  of  the  recent  sufferers  at  Hinckley,  brought  his 
fannh  to  Mora  last  Saturday.  Mr.  Currie  said  he  and  Dr.  Cowan 
had  an  insurance  of  eighteen  hundred  dollars  on  their  property.  He 
still  retains  faith  in  a  bright  future  for  Hinckley,  and  will  rebuild 
there  at  once. 

In  our  review  of  the  Hinckley  and  Brook  Park  fires  last  week, 
we  overlooked  our  local  physician,  Dr.  J.  A.  Lewis.  The  doctor  did 
noble  service  in  relieving  the  sufferings  of  the  injured  ones,  and  in 
fact  did  about  all  that  was  done  in  that  line  for  them,  for  which  he 
deserves  great  credit 

Last  Sunday  afternoon,  September  ninth,  was  an  exciting  time  in 
Mora.  The  wind  blew  a  gale  from  the  southwest  and  the  whole 
country  seemed  to  be  on  fire.  Many  of  the  citizens  went  onto  the 
island  in  Lake  Mora,  while  others  were  prepared  to  leave  for  a  place 
of  safety  at  any  moment.  The  wind  changed  to  the  northwest  about 
4  o'clock  and  sent  the  smoke  scudding  in  another  direction,  and  all 
signs  of  danger  disappeared.  There  were  no  fires  within  six  miles 
of  Mora.  The  fires  were  bad  at  Ground  House  and  in  the  town  of 
Hillman,  and  the  women  and  children  were  all  brought  up  to  Mora. 
Rut  up  to  the  present  writing  (Thursday)  we  have  heard  of  but  two 


284 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


REV.  FATHER  BEJEC,  PINE  CITY. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  285 

houses  having  burned  from  forest  fires  in  the  entire  country  adja- 
cent. Large  quantities  of  hay,  several  camps  and  some  stock  have 
been  destroyed  in  different  localities. 

From  the  Minneapolis  Times  of  the  tenth  instant,  we  clip  the 
following,  which  is  a  part  of  a  report  made  by  the  state  relief  com- 
mittee, who  were  sent  here  last  Friday: 

"George  W.  Marchant  and  Ed  Geesaman  returned  this  morning 
from  their  visit  to  Mora  and  Brook  Park,  whither  they  were  sent 
by  the  direction  of  the  local  relief  association,  to  ascertain  what  was 
being  done  to  aid  the  fire  sufferers.  They  were  pleased  to  find  that 
relief  had  come  from  the  west  as  promptly  as  from  the  other  sides. 
The  dead  were  buried,  the  injured  removed  to  a  place  where  they 
could  be  made  comfortable,  and  other  survivors  were  well  taken 
care  of.  At  Mora  an  active  relief  committee,  composed  of  Rev.' 
James  Thompson,  Andrew  Larson  and  T.  B.  Vickery,  had  been  in- 
defatigable in  their  efforts  to  render  assistance,  and  with  supplies  of 
clothing  and  provisions  sent  from  St.  Cloud,  had  housed  and  fed 
the  homeless  from  Brook  Park.  At  the  latter  place,  which  was  al- 
most wiped  out,  there  was  found  a  box  car  in  which  a  colony  of  nine 
destitute  people  were  sheltering  themselves.  Three  of  these  were 
sent  to  Hinckley  by  the  Minneapolis  relief  committee,  and  those  who 
preferred  to  remain  were  fully  provided  for.  A  resident  of  Brook 
Park  named  Gonyea,  who  had  been  very  badly  burned,  was  sent 
over  to  St.  Cloud,  where  he  will  be  turned  over  to  one  of  the  hos- 
pitals. It  was  found  that  the  Mora  relief  committee  had  sent  search 
parties  all  through  the  burned  districts  from  Mora  to  Hinckley,  and 
that  everybody  had  been  found  and  all  of  the  refugees  cared  for. 
Having  seen  everything  in  good  working  order,  Messrs.  Marchant 
and  Geesaman  proceeded  to  Hinckley,  where  they  joined  the  state 
relief  committee. 

""The  local  relief  committee,  which  consisted  of  W.  Y.  D.  Long,  Ole 
Nelson  and  section  crew,  Dr.  Cowan,  Henry  Renes,  now  county  audi- 
tor, Victor  Molander,  Jas.  Golden,  Thomas  Dowds,  and  Chas.  Olson, 
was  in  charge  of  W.  Y.  D.  Long,  depot  agent,  Mora.  They  took 
with  them  provisions  to  last  the  sufferers  two  days  and  arrived  at 
Pokegama  Sunday  afternoon.  They  found  and  temporarily  covered 
a  number  of  dead  bodies,  their  first  thought  being  for  the  living. 
Among  the  living  was  found  Dr.  Kelsey  and  family,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
R.  W.  Kelsey  and  family,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fream  and  family,  Mr.  and 


286  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

Mrs.  Ward  and  sons,  and  thirty-two  Polish  Jews  who  were  sheltered 
in  a  box  car.  The  expedition  proceeded  one  mile  and  a  half  down 
the  railway  track  to  the  place  where  the  Great  Northern  train  was 
lying  and  found  there  Hans.  Nelson,  section  foreman,  and  family, 
and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Braman.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Braman  were  sent  to  Pine 
City.  The  relief  party  then  started  to  return  to  Mora,  bringing  with 
them  Mr.  and  Mrs.  R.  W.  Kelsey  and  family,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fream 
and  four  children,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hans  Nelson  and  family,  and  Jacob 
Greenberg.  When  four  miles  from  Mora  they  were  met  by  the  St. 
Cloud  work  train,  which  had  proceeded  as  far  as  it  could.  The  ex- 
pedition was  taken  on  board  and  brought  to  Mora,  where  they  ar- 
rived about  9  o'clock  p.  m.,  the  whole  party  of  the  sufferers  were 
placed  in  the  church  and  well  cared  for,  medical  assistance  being 
'given  by  Dr.  J.  A.  Lewis,  local  physician. 

No  help  whatever  was  accepted  from  this  relief  traip  from  St. 
Cloud  by  the  Mora  relief  committee,  except  that  two  nurses, — M-rs. 
Margaret  Mitchell  and  Mrs-.  Marshall — were  retained  to  nurse  thv. 
sufferers. 

A  car  load  of  clothing  arrived  at  Mora  from  St.  Cloud  on  Tuesday 
morning  about  10  o'clock.  This  clothing  ws.s  distributed  by  Rev. 
Thompson  on  Tuesday  afternoon  among  the  sufferers  who  were  at 
Mora,  and  among  the  sufferers  at  Brook  Park  on  Tuesday  evening. 
Two  barrels  of  clothing  were  also  received  from  the  Woman's  Home 
Missionary  Society  of  Wesley  M.  E.  Church,  Minneapolis.  -Also  one 
box  of  clothing  from  Rev.  George  H.  Wareham,  pastor  of  M.  E. 
Church  at  Jonesville.  Help  in  provisions  and  clothing  was  also 
offered  by  Rev.  H.  C.  Jonnenys,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  M.  E.  Church,  Red 
Wing,  Minn.,  but  was  declined. 

The  thirty-two  Russian  sufferers  were  removed  by  James  Suydam 
from  Minnesota  Home  to  249  East  Fairfield  avenue,  St.  Paul. 

The  body  of  Mr.  James  Barnes  was  brought  to  Mora,  accompanied 
by  his  two  sisters  Mary  and  Elizabeth,  and  the  father,  Robert  Barnes. 
They  remained  at  Mora  until  the  following  afternoon  and  then  went 
to  St.  Paul,  their  expenses,  railway  fees,  etc.,  being  paid  by  the  Mora 
relief  committee. 

The  twenty-five  dollars  received  from  Hon.  R.  C.  Dunn,  of  Prince- 
ton, was  declined  by  the  Mora  relief  committee  as  thev  determined 
to  take  care  of  the  sufferers  themselves. 


MIXXESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


287 


The  families  from  Hillman  and  Ground  House  were  well  cared 
for  by  Alora  and  were  sheltered  and  fed  in  the  church.  The  families 
from  Hillman  remained  in  the  church  over  a  week.  In  all  about 
one  hundred  people  were  cared  for,  sheltered,  fed  and  partly  clothed 
by  the  people  of  Mora  during  the  three  weeks  preceeding  September 
first. 


288 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


SUPERIOR. 

C  UPERIOR  is  in  Douglas  county,  in  the  state  of  Wisconsin,  and 
^  is  on  the  banks  of  Lake  Superior.  The  eastern  division  of  the 
Great  Northern  Railway,  from  Duluth,  crosses  the  bay,  and  enters 
Superior,  and  goes  forward  till  it  reaches  Carleton  county,  Minnesota. 
From  this  it  is  clear  that  the  refugees  from  the  fire  district  on  the 
Eastern  line,  had  to  be  taken  to  Superior  before  reaching  Duluth, 
but  as  Duluth  is  the  largest  city  in  Northern  Minnesota,  and  as  the 
fires  in  Pine  county  were  in  Minnesota,  it  was  right  and  proper  that 
the  sufferers,  as  a  whole,  should  be  taken  to  that  city.  This  accounts 
for  the  work  done  in  Duluth  being  greater  than  that  done  at  Superior, 
but  it  does  not  lessen  the  credit  due  to  the  generous  people  of 
Superior,  who  well  deserve  the  fame  their  city  is  attaining  in  the 
Northwest.  With  water  ways  to  the  sea,  being  on  level  ground, 
having  the  shops  of  the  railway,  and  also  being  near  the  great  iron 
ranges  so  rich  in  mineral  wealth,  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
bay  from  its  neighbor,  it  has  a  right  to  expect  a  future  which  will 
eclipse  the  present  glory  it  has  attained  as  far  as  sunlight  surpasses 
moonlight. 

I  have  put  in  this  book  every  word  of  report  sent  to  me  from; 
Superior,  and  to  that  must  be  added  the  fact,  that  many  of  the  men 
who  served  through  the  fire  are  not  only  superior  men,  but  they  are 
men  who  live  at  Superior.  Such  men  as  Thorne,  railway  superin- 
tendent, Whyte,  master  mechanic,  Finlayson,  master  carpenter, 
Van  Pelt,  Best,  Ford,  Freeman,  McLaughlin,  Gilham  and  many 
others.  The  people  of  Minnesota  will  not  forget  the  kind- 
ness of  the  people  of  Superior  in  September,  1894,  shown  to  so  many 
of  our  citizens,  nor  will  it  forget  the  good  \vork  of  the  Superior  news- 
papers, or  their  zeal  in  gathering  news.  The  staff  of  the  Evening 
Telegram  deserves  special  mention,  and  I  acknowledge  my  obliga- 
tions to  Mr.  Kirby  Thomas. 

The  mayor  of  Superior  was  in  New  York  at  the  time  of  the  disa<-- 


290  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

ter,  but  he  did  not  forget  the  fire  sufferers.  Acting  Mayor  C.  J.  Xor- 
quist  filled  his  place,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Starkweather,  with  a  band  of 
ready  helpers  came  to  his  assistance.  The  names  of  the  committee 
are  in  the  report. 

When  the  fire  occurred  at  Philips,  Wis.,  the  city  of  Superior  was 
the  first  to  furnish  relief. 

In  response  to  the  telegram  of  Mr.  Davis,  the  Hon.  F.  A.  "Wood- 
ward, mayor  of  Superior,  called  a  mass  meeting  at  the  city  hall,  and  in 
a  few  hours  a  car  loaded  with  food  and  supplies  of  all  kinds  was  on 
its  way  to  Philips,  under  the  charge  of  Rev.  J.  H.  Xasson.  After 
the  first  assistance  had  been  given,  about  $150  remained  in  the  hands 
of  the  city  clerk,  which  was,  by  request  of  the  chairman  of  the  Philips 
committee  sent  to  him  by  Xe.v  York  draft. 

In  this  matter  the  citizens  of  all  classes  and  wards  acted  with  the 
greatest  harmony  and  promptness.  Xo  charge  was  made  by  Mr. 
Xasson  or  any  one  else  for  services. 

When  the  terrible  conflagrations  in  the  vicinity  of  Hinckley  were 
wired  to  Superior,  a  temporary  organization  was  immediately  formed 
by  Acting  Mayor  C.  J.  Xorquist,  assisted  by  Aldermen  Harry 
Rogers  and  James  H.  Agen.  A  relief  train  was  sent  out  with  Dr. 
Collins  in  charge,  and  many  volunteer  assistants.  Some  sufferers 
were  rescued  and  many  buried.  A  second  train,  also  under  Dr. 
Collins,  was  sent  later.  For  his  hard  labor  and  professional  serv- 
ices Dr.  Collins  never  made  any  charge.  The  first  trainload  of  Min- 
nesota sufferers  reached  Superior  shortly  after  midnight,  September 
2nd.  Carriages  were  ready  to  convey  the  burned  to  the  hospital,  and 
the  half-naked  women  and  children  were  wrapped  in  blankets  and 
taken  to  the  city  hall,  where  women  were  ready  with  clothing  to  dress 
them  comfortably.  All  were  Drovided  with  comfortable  board  in 
the  different  hotels  and  boarding  houses.  Many  had  friends  who 
provided  for  them  without  expense  to  the  committee,  and  of  such 
relief  no  record  has  been  made.  After  some  time  the  Duluth  com- 
mittee sent  for  the  Minnesota  fire  sufferers,  but  most  of  them  re- 
turned here,  after  registering  in  Duluth. 

Before  they  were  taken  to  Duluth  they  were  addressed  by  Acting 
Mayor  Xorquist,  who  invited  them  to,  stay  or  to  register  in  Duluth 
and  then  return  to  Superior. 

When  the  fires  destroyed  Hinckley,  Sandstone  and  other  Minne- 
sota towns,  the  woods  of  Wisconsin  were  burning  in  many  places. 
These  fires  caused  but  little  loss  of  life,  and  the  great  excitement 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  291 

which  the  terrible  loss  in  the  Minnesota  towns  produced  prevented 
the  public  generally  from  appreciating1  the  great  financial  loss  in 
Northern  Wisconsin.  The  fire  burned  steadily  in  all  directions,  de- 
stroying the  timber,  burning  the  grass  roots,  and  in  some  cases  cal- 
cining the  soil,  so  that  grass  seed  will  not  germinate.  Settlers,  who 
had  with  great  labor  gathered  hay  from  the  creek  bottoms  to  keep 
their  cows  through  the  winter,  -.vere  deprived  not  only  of  the  timber, 
ties,  posts  and  bark,  by  the  sale  of  which  they  expected  to  support 
their  families  through  the  winter,  but  of  all  food  for  their  stock,  and 
it  was  only  by  the  most  prompt  and  efficient  action  of  the  Superior 
Relief  Committee  that  hundreds  of  cows  and  other  stock  were  saved 
from  being  slaughtered  to  keep  them  from  starvation.  Two  in- 
stances will  show  how  complete  was  the  destruction  a  few  miles  south 
of  Superior,  and  how  little  attention  was  first  given  to  it.  The  com- 
mittee decided  to  rebuild  two  log  houses  which  had  been  burned  a 
few  miles  south  from  here,  but  investigation  showed  that  while  the 
houses  had  been  in  the  middle  of  the  timber,  yet  there  were  then 
no  unburned  logs  with  which  to  rebuild  nearer  than  five  miles. 

Theophile  Bedard,  a  tie  cutter,  lived  with  his  wife  on  their  home- 
stead near  Boyleston,  seven  miles  south  of  Superior.  Their  nearest 
neighbor  was  a  half  mile  from  there.  He  was  named  Williams.  Williams 
and  Bedard  were  cutting  ties  some  miles  away  with  several  other  men. 
On  September  2nd  Airs.  Bedard  escaped  from  her  burning  house, 
and  finding  Mrs.  Williams,  the  two  women  searched  for  their  hus- 
bands for  two  days  but  could  not  even  find  the  camp  where  they 
and  several  others  had  been  working.  The  women  finally  walked 
to  St.  Louis,  where  they  took  a  train  to  St.  Paul,  hoping  the  men 
had  escaped  in  that  direction,  but  no  trace  of  any  of  these  men  has 
been  found.  Airs.  Williams  remained  with  friends  in  St.  Paul. 

Airs.  Bedard  was  transferred  from  St.  Paul  to  Duluth,  Sept.  i8th, 
and  from  Duluth  to  Superior  Sept.  2ist.  She  is  still  in  this  city. 
Till  she  reached  here-  ;t  was  not  known  that  any  lives  had  been  lost 
in  Douglas  county. 

As  soon  as  it  became  known  that  help  of  all  kinds  was  needed 
for  people  in  Douglas  and  Bay  field  counties,  and  that  much  relief 
work  would  have  to  be  done  for  months,  a  permanent  organization 
was  effected  by  a  mass  meeting  at  the  city  hall.  Air.  Frank  Os- 
trander  was  elected  president.  Air.  P.  J.  Ekstrand  (the  treasurer 
of  the  city\  elected  treasurer,  and  the  city  clerk  appointed  secretary. 
Committees  of  two  men  from  each  ward  were  selected  to  solicit  mon- 


292 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


> 


REV.  J.  H.  NASON. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  293 

ey  for  the  relief  fund,  and  a  special  committee  chosen  to  raise  money 
from  the  banks  and  corporations. 

The  committeemen  from  the  ist  and  2nd  wards  did  not  turn  in 
the  funds  to  the  treasurer,  but  a  seperate  organization  was  made  in 
the  Eastern  wards  of  the  city,  and  the  work  done  by  that  organiza- 
tion is  not  included  in  this  report. 

Some  misunderstanding  arose  from  this  division  and  from  the  fact 
that  Mayor  Woodward,  who  was  in  New  York  when  Hinckley  was 
destroyed,  was  offered  help  by  Eastern  parties.  The  state  officials 
considered  no  assistance  outside  of  Wisconsin  to  be  necessary,  al- 
though when  it  was  freely  tendered  by  Chicago  merchants  and 
churches,  it  was  gratefully  accepted.  Many  conferences  and  meet- 
ings were  held,  and  after  a  visit  to  Milwaukee  by  the  secretary,  who 
laid  the  whole  condition  of  this  section  of  the  state  before  Colonel 
W.  J.  Boyle,  treasurer  of  the  state  relief,  no  further  trouble  arose 
and  the  state  promptly  and  generously  filled  all  requisitions  and  fur- 
nished all  the  feed,  hay,  provisions  and  bedding  which  was  asked  for 
or  needed.  Too  much  praise  cannot  be  accorded  to  Col.  Boyle's 
management  of  the  state  relief  work. 

On  the  executive  committee  fell  most  of  the  work.  That  commit- 
tee consisted  of  Acting  Mayor  Xorquist,  Rev.  J.  H.  Xasson,  Rev.  A. 
P.  Morten,  Mr.  Chas.  Stewart,  Capt.  Jarvis  White,  Wm.  E.  Pick- 
ering and  the  treasurer  and  secretary.  Afterwards  changes  were 
made  in  the  committee,  and  Mayor  Woodward  on  his  return  took  an 
active  part  in  the  work. 

Neither  the  president,  treasurer  or  secretary  have  asked  or  re- 
ceived any  compensation  for  their  services  or  expenses,  or  has  any 
expense  for  clerical  work  been  incurred. 

The  committee  to  raise  funds  from  the  corporations  reported  about 
$1,500,  but  this  was  used  as  a  guaranty  fund  and  only  about  $60 
of  it  was  called  on.  Outside  of  the  corporations  and  the  money 
sent  by  non-residents,  about  $2,000  was  raised  by  the  committees 
in  the  seven  wards.  In  this  work  Alderman  Lund  was  very  active 
and  successful. 

The  Rev.  J.  H.  Nasson,  who  superintended  quite  largely  the  dis- 
tribution of  supplies  for  the  fire  sufferers,  reports  the  following  points 
of  the  special  methods  employed : 

First,  I  note  the  promptness  with  which  the  city  of  Superior  an- 
swered the  calls  of  distress  from  Phillips,  and  the  fire  of  September 
ist  at  Hinckley,  Partridge,  Sandstone,  etc.  Immediately  upon  re- 


294  MINNESOTA.  FOREST  FIR^S. 

ceiving  the  telegram  reporting  the  Phillips  fire,  the  mayor  of  the 
city  called  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  in  the  city  hall;  committees  were 
appointed,  money  and  provisions  were  solicited  the  same  afternoon, 
and  at  evening  were  forwarded  to  Phillips,  reaching  there  about  mid- 
night, and  handed  over  the  relief  committee  in  that  city  the  next 
morning.  The  same  promptness  was  manifested  in  responding  to 
the  fire  sufferers  at  Hinckley. 

The  second  point  would  be  this:  In  common  with  the  citizens 
of  Duluth  and  other  parts  of  the  country,  no  regard  was  paid  to 
state  lines,  but  the  people  of  Superior  desired  to  be  useful  to  the 
needy  in  Minnesota  as  well  as  in  Wisconsin,  because  of  our  prox- 
imity to  the  suffering  in  Eastern  Minnesota,  and  we  felt  'that  we 
ought  to  share  with  Duluth  the  care  of  the  first  trains  of  sufferers 
that  arrived;  so  that  private  houses  and  hotels  of  our  city  were 
thrown  wide  open  for  receiving  the  sufferers,  and  after  Minnesota 
asked  the  privilege  of  taking  care  of  her  own  citizens,  still,  because 
many  of  them  preferred  to  remain  in  Superior,  we  still  continued  to 
furnish  them  with  supplies. 

The  third  point  would  be:  That  great  pains  were  taken  to  ex- 
plore the  woods  where  many  of  the  settlers  were  to  be  found  on 
their  claims,  many  miles  away  from  the  railroad  towns,  and  in  that 
way  numerous  destitute  cases  were  found  that  otherwise  would  never 
have  been  known  to  the  general  public. 

The  fourth  point  would  be:  That  careful  discrimination  was  ex- 
ercised, so  that  those  who  suffered  most  in  the  loss  of  property, 
houses  and  gardens,  were  aided  proportionately  to  their  losses.  That 
while  few  lives  were  lost,  aside  from  the  loss  at  Phillips,  in  North- 
ern Wisconsin,  there  were  really  great  losses  of  property,  of  the 
comforts  of  life,  the  gardens  and  the  hay  fields  of  the  settlers,  and 
immense  quantities  of  wood,  cedar  posts,  railroad  ties  and  other 
property  that  the  settlers  depended  on  for  their  living.  The  com- 
mittee who  investigated  the  condition  of  these  sufferers  found  a 
large  number  of  Finlanders,  and  other  nationalities,  who  had  set- 
tled within  the  fire  swept  territory,  and  like  all  new  settlers  had  en- 
dured great  suffering  and  privation  in  order  to  improve  their  lands, 
and  in  consequence  of  the  two  years  of  hard  times  through  which 
they  had  passed,  and  the  double  scourge  of  drought  and  grasshop- 
pers which  they  had  experienced  that  year,  before  the  fire  came. 

Fifthly,  in  the  judgment  of  the  relief  committee  it  was  thought 
best  to  ask  the  state  of  Wisconsin  to  furnish  a  store  room  of  sup- 


MIXXESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.    .  295 

plies  against  the  needs  of  the  coming  winter,  and  this  afforded  dis- 
tribution during  the  autumn  at  the  various  points  where  destitution 
had  occurred.  It  was  found  to  have  been  a  very  wise  precaution 
to  have  that  store  of  supplies,  and  it  was  visited  by  great  numbers 
of  the  suffering  during  the  greater  part  of  the  winter. 

Superintendent  Thome,  J.  X.  Hill,  Conductor  Ed.  Gilboy,  M.  J. 
Devany,  roadmaster,  and  myself  took  a  handcar  and  started  ahead 
to  ascertain  what  damage  was  done,  and  found  every  bridge,  build- 
ing and  culvert  burned  out  between  that  point  and  Hinckley. 

At  Sandstone  we  found  Kettle  river  bridge  burned,  the  steel  span 
alone  standing,  and  the  oak  ties  and  guard  rails  burning  from  each 
end. 

We  had  all  bridges  from  Xo.  105  to  113  rebuilt  by  September 
sixth.  On  September  seventh  we  commenced  framing  Kettle  river 
bridge,  and  at  twelve  o'clock,  midnight  of  September  sixteenth,  the 
first  train  passed  over  it;  which  I  think  a  very  good  record  for  a 
bridge  eight  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long,  and  one  hundred  and  thir- 
ty-two feet  high,  and  not  a  man  was  injured. 

JOHX  FIXLAYSOX, 

Master  Carpenter. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  F1BES. 


W 


<i 


LORD  MOUNT-STEPHEN,  LONDON. 


WHAT    DULUTH   PEOPLE    DID. 

FjULUTH  is  the  greatest  city  in  the  northern  part  of  Minnesota 
•^  and  its  people  are  characterized  by  very  great  energy  and 
enthusiasm.  All  the  transport  business  to  and  from  the  northern 
pare  of  the  state  centers  here.  The  interests  of  this  city  are  very 
closely  allied  to  those  of  the  residents  in  Pine  County;  trains  go 
through  it  daily.  Every  one  who  has  ever  visited  Duluth  has  gone 
through  the  burnt  district  All  this  made  the  people  of  the  city  at 
the  head  of  the  Great  Lakes  take  a  personal  interest  in  the  fire  suf- 
ferers. It  was  from  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  depot  in  Duluth  that 
the  ill-fated  train,  which  had  Conductor  Sullivan  and  Engineer  J. 
Root  on  board,  with  many  citizens  known  to  large  numbers  of  the 
people,  started.  All  this  stimulated  deep  concern,  besides  the  men 
and  women  who  took  a  part  in  the  fire  relief  work  were  actuated 
by  a  Christian  sympathy  which  had  manifested  itself  often  before. 
The  Ladies'  Relief  Society  had  for  years  been  widely  known  for  its 
work  for  unfortunate  people.  The  Rev.  E.  M.  Xoyes,  the  pastor 
of  the  Pilgrim  Congregational  Church,  was  known  in  all  the  re- 
gion round  for  his  wide  sympathies.  The  Roman  Catholic  bishop, 
James  McGolrick,  had,  before  he  was  a  bishop,  when  a  priest  at 
the  Church  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  Minneapolis,  for  more 
than  twenty  years  stood  a  friend  of  thousands  in  trouble,  sorrow,  need 
and  all  kinds  of  distress;  a  man  of  active,  tireless  energy,  who  had 
copied  after  the  late  Cardinal  Manning,  probably. 

The  Rev.  C.  C.  Salter  is  said  be  a  man  in  ten  thousand.  A  very 
rough  man  said  to  the  writer,  "If  ever  there  was  a  man  who  fol- 
lowed Jesus  Christ,  a  saint  on  earth,  I  believe  it  is  Mr.  Salter." 
Every  tramp,  every  man  who  needs  a  friend  at  Duluth,  knows  the 
pastor  of  the  Bethel.  The  mayor,  Mr.  Lewis,  is  a  quiet  man  with  a 
clear  head  and  a  warm  heart.  He  threw  all  the  energy  of  his  soul 
into  the  work  of  relief. 

The  physicians  of  Duluth  should  be  honored  for  the  brave  and 


298  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

faithful  manner  in  which  their  professional  duties  were  discharged 
during  these  trying  days.  They  were:  Doctors  Salter,  McComb, 
Retchie,  Sherwin,  Gibson,  McCormick,  Gilbert,  Magie,  Weston, 
Lyman  and  Codding. 

On  the  afternoon  of  September  first  the  citizens  of  Duluth  were 
at  first  surprised,  then  alarmed  by  the  peculiar  effects  in  the  sky 
which  could  only  be  compared  to  descriptions  of  simoons  in  that 
gradual  and  at  last  almost  total  darkness  that  succeeded  an  other- 
wise brilliant  day  as  early  as  noon.  At  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
it  became  so  dark  that  lamps  had  to  be  lighted,  and  a  short  time 
afterwards  the  streets  were  almost  in  total  darkness.  People  be- 
gan to  wonder  and  to  look  into  each  other's  faces,  as  if  inquiring 
whether  the  end  of  the  world,  which  had  been  prophecied  by  certain 
religious  sects,  was  about  to  be  fulfilled.  Later  it  became  rumored 
that  the  fires  had  reached  Hinckley  on  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth 
road,  and  while  the  information  was  vague  in  the  extreme,  it  was 
not  lessened  by  the  reports  which  succeeded  each  other  in  rapid 
succession.  Between  five  and  six  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  it  was 
stated  that  the  limited  train  on  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  road  had 
been  detained  on  account  of  the  fires,  and  numerous  sensational 
reports  were  started,  evidently  originating  from  those  who  had 
friends  detained  by  the  unusual  occurrence;  but  later  in  the  even- 
ing it  became  apparent  that  some  unusual  event  had  happened  for 
the  reason  that  the  limited  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  train,  usually  on 
time,  did  not  arrive;  and  when  messages  came  over  the  wires  of 
the  Eastern  Minnesota  Company  indicating  that  Hinckley  had 
burned  and  that  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  south  bound  limited  had 
been  obliged  to  turn  back,  the  first  evidence  of  the  worst  fears  be- 
gan to  be  realized.  These  fears  were  abundantly  corroborated  when 
the  Eastern  Minnesota  train,  which  left  Duluth  at  one  p.  m.,  returned 
from  Hinckley,  bringing  in  addition  to  its  south  bound  passengers, 
four  hundred  and  seventy-six  residents  of  Hinckley  who  had  been 
obliged  to  desert  that  village  on  account  of  the  fires. 

As  the  wires  brought  no  news  concerning  the  condition  of  the 
St.  Paul  and  Duluth  train  up  to  eleven  p.  m.,  the  rumors  which  had 
been  current  were  thought  to  be  true,  and  the  citizens  of  Duluth 
began  to  show  their  interest  in  the  probable  distress  of  the  passen- 
gers of  that  train  by  numerous  inquiries  at  the  local  offices  of  the 
company.  The  dispatcher's  office  of  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  road 
was  filled  during  the  night  with  persons  whose  anxious  inquiries 
showed  the  public  interest  in  the  fate  of  that  train. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  299 

At  about  two  o'clock  Sunday  morning  a.  number  of  gentlemen 
who  had  made  repeated  visits  to  the  dispatcher's  office  of  the  St. 
Paul  and  Duluth  road,  being  anxious  as  to  the  welfare  of  certain 
friends  on  the  south  bound  limited  train  (Mrs.  E.  X.  Saunders  and 
family),  began  to  feel  desperate,  when  the  wire  at  last  ticked  off, 
in  an  almost  unintelligible  manner,  a  message  indicating  that  R. 
X.  Bell  and  daughter  and  Mrs.  E.  XT.  Saunders  and  family  were 
safe;  the  relief  shown  in  the  expression  of  their  faces  plainly  indi- 
cated the  anxiety  which  they  had  felt  before. 

Upon  returning  to  the  Spalding  Hotel  and  after  some  little  con- 
versation Mr.  J.  L.  Greatsinger,  president  and  general  manager  of 
the  Duluth  and  Iron  Railway,  turned  to  one  of  the  party  and  said, 
"It  does  not  seem  right  that  no  effort  is  being  made  to  reach  the 
women  and  children  at  the  point  where  the  limited  train  burned.  If 
we  were  in  the  same  place,  it  would  cheer  us  to  think  that  our  friends 
were  making  an  endeavor  to  reach  us.  If  you  will  go  with  me  I 
will  get  an  engine  and  car  and  we  will  start  tonight."  The  person 
addressed  was  of  the  same  opinion  and  readily  assented.  Both  gen- 
tlemen started  for  the  dispatcher's  office  of  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth 
in  order  to  ascertain  whether  they  could  get  the  rights  of  the  road 
at  that  time  and  start  out.  The  officials  seemed  anxious  to  further 
any  effort  to  aid  those  in  distress,  and  promptly  called  a  crew  of 
their  men  to  get  ready  to  take  the  party  out.  It  was  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning  before  everything  was  in  readiness  to  start,  and  by 
that  time  the  Union  Station  was  filled  with  citizens  who  were  only 
too  anxious  and  willing  to  volunteer  their  services  in  rendering  as- 
sistance to  the  needy.  The  train  started,  but  owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  condition  of  the  road  at  that  time  was  not  known,  as  to  whether 
bridges  were  intact,  or  had  been  destroyed  by  the  fires,  it  took  until 
ten  o'clock  Sunday  morning  for  this  relief  party  to  reach  Rutledge, 
a  short  distance  north  of  where  the  limited  train  was  burned.  At 
that  station  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  train,  which  had  been  sent  out 
early  in  the  evening,  returned,  bringing  forty  or  fifty,  of  the  survivors, 
who  were  taken  cace  of  by  the  train,  practically  in  charge  of  Mr. 
Greatsinger,  and  of  course  operated  by  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  road. 
Mr.  Greatsinger's  private  car  was  given  to  the  injured,  and  the  doc- 
tors who  had  been  invited  and  had  most  readily  consented  to  ac- 
company the  party  at  once  made  themselves  busy,  endeavoring  to 
relieve  the  sufferings  of  those  -vho  had  been  burned.  It  was  learned 
from  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  work  train  that  all  of  the  passengers 


300 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MRS.  E.  M.  BANGS. 


M1NNEOSTA  FOREST  FIRSS.  301 

of  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  limited  who  had  not  reported  at  Rutledge 
had  started  south  on  hand  cars  to  reach  Pine  City. 

Mr.  O'Brien  and  Mrs.  Saunders  and  her  family  were  reported  in 
first  rate  condition,  considering  the  awful  distress  they  had  gone 
through,  and  consequently  the  train  started  with  the  forty  or  fifty 
rescued  toward  Duluth  and  arrived  safely,  late  in  the  afternoon. 
The  sufferers  were  immediately  taken  in  hand  by  the  citizens'  relief 
committee  and  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society,  and  given  every  comfort 
which  was  possible  to  tender  them  at  that  period  of  their  distress. 

Mr.  Farrington,  general  manager  of  the  Eastern  Minnesota  Rail- 
way, did  all  in  his  power  to  help  the  work  of  relief  and  reconstruc- 
tion. 

Sunday,  the  second  of  September,  was  a  busy  day  in  Duluth,  in 
that  all  of  its  citizens  seemed  to  respond  as  one  man  to  the  call 
made  upon  them  in  the  daily  press,  for  means  of  relief  to  offer  to  the 
stricken  district. 

The  Ladies'  Aid  Society  established  headquarters  in  the  basement 
of  the  Lyceum  Building,  generously  tendered  by  Mrs.  A.  M.  Mil- 
ler, and  all  of  that  day  relief  of  every  kind,  money,  clothing  and 
provisions  poured  into  the  headquarters  in  such  quantities  that  every- 
one received  an  abundant  supply. 

About  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  Eastern  Minnesota  road 
was  waited  upon  by  a  committee,  stating  that  they  understood  that 
some  four  hundred  people  were  in  the  Sandstone  river  bottoms,  deso- 
late and  without  any  means  of  subsistence,  and  asking  if  the  East- 
ern would  furnish  transportation  to  parties  desiring  to  go  their 
to  afford  them  relief.  The  officials  of  the  road  had  not  received  any 
advice  up  to  that  time  that  the  fire  had  burned  any  other  towns  than 
Hinckley,  and  considered  that  the  reason  for  their  not  receiving  fur- 
ther advices  was  that  the  wires  through  the  town  of  Hinckley  had 
been  burned  and  therefore  had  cut  off  the  circuit.  A  train  was 
heartily  tendered  to  the  citizens  of  Duluth,  and  any  other  assistance 
which  the  company  could  offer  in  equipment  or  money.  After  re- 
ceiving this  answer  the  committee  began  to  get  together  supplies  of 
food,  medical  necessaries,  etc.,  and  selected  volunteers  to  go  with 
the  train,  which  by  request  was  to  start  from  Duluth  about  twelve 
o'clock  Sunday  night.  The  train  was  made  up,  consisting  of  an  en- 
gine, two  flat  cars,  two  freight  box  cars,  two  day  coaches  and  a 
private  car,  which  left  Duluth  between  three  and  four  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  The  train  was  provided  with  lumber  to  make  coffins, 


302  MINNESOTA  FOPEST  FIRES. 

four  wagons  and  teams,  provisions,  and  supplies  to  be  distributed 
to  the  needy,  six  doctors,  and  forty-five  of  Duluth's  most  prominent 
citizens.  Up  to  midnight  the  reports  indicated  that  many  peoplo 
had  been  burned;  consequently  knowing  that  quick  action  in  suc'.i 
cases  is  required,  each  man  was  equipped  with  a  shovel  for  the  pur- 
pose of  lending  his  energy  to  bury  the  dead.  The  train  proceeded 
on  its  way  until  Mansfield  station,  fifteen  miles  north  of  Sandstone, 
was  reached.  After  that  point  was  passed  frequent  stops  were  made 
at  every  lumber  camp  between  that  point  and  to  Sandstone,  in  or- 
der to  enable  certain  ones  from  the  relief  train  tp  get  off,  and  in- 
vestigate as  to  whether  all  parties  living  there  were  safe.  Everything 
was  found  to  be  in  good  condition  until  Partridge  was  reached, 
and  at  that  station  a  dissolution  began  to  be  apparent,  from  the  fact 
that  not  a  board  was  left  in  the  town  to  indicate  that  a  settlement 
had  existed  there  prior  to  the  first  of  September.  At  this  place, 
owing  to  the  intensity  of  the  heat,  the  train  could  not  proceed  further 
for  the  reason  that  between  Partridge  and  Sandstone — a  distance  of 
seven  miles — 4he  entire  roadway  of  the  Eastern  Minnesota  had  been 
burned  to  such  an  extent  that  the  steel  in  the  track  was  warped  end 
crimped  to  a  degree  rendering  it  impossible  for  even  hand  cars  to 
proceed  beyond  that  station.  The  relief  party  disembarked  from 
the  train,  and  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Seagog,  of  Duluth,  were 
divided  into  two  parties,  one  to  proceed  by  wagon  in  a  direction 
slightly  deviating  from  the  path  of  the  railroad,  in  order  to  reach 
what  was  known  as  the  Sandstone  quarries  of  the  St.  Paul  and 
Duluth  road,  and  rescue  any  persons  who  might  be  suffering  at  that 
place ;  the  other  party  started  on  hand  cars  to  go  as  far  as  they  could, 
and  the  balance  of  the  distance  walked  to  Kettle  river,  running  one- 
fourth  mile  north  of  Sandstone.  Each  member  of  the  party  was 
equipped  with  a  knapsack,  containing  a  large  quantity  of  sandwiches 
and  other  food  supplies  which  might  be  found  necessary  to  be  used 
en  route,  and  also  carried  axes  and  shovels,  and  as  much  lumber  as 
they  possibly  could.  The  walk  of  eeven  miles  between  Partridge 
and  Sandstone  was  something  that  will  be  remembered  to  the  last 
day  of  every  member  of  the  party.  The  fires  had  passed  over,  but 
had  left  quietly  burning  vegetation,  and  the  air  full  of  smoke  and 
ashes,  making  breathing  almost  unbearable,  and  the  heat  was  so 
intense  that  every  one  suffered  to  a  greater  or  less  degree. 

Upon  arriving  at  Kettle  River,  seven  miles  from  Sandstone,  thev 
walked  down  the  rocky  bluffs  where  no  roadway  existed,  one  hun- 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  303 

dred  and  thirty-five  feet,  reaching  the  river.  After  hailng  one  of 
the  survivors  in  the  quarries,  he  succeeded  in  ferrying1  across  the 
river  in  a  flat  bottom  boat,  twelve  feet  long-  and  two  and  a  half  feet 
wide,  and  the  party  took  turns  in  this  cranky  skiff.  Upon  reaching 
the  other  side  it  was  found  that  but  one  building  was  left  in  the 
town  of  Sandstone,  where  before  had  lived  a  population  of  seven  hun- 
dred people.  This  building  was  the  office  of  the  Sandstone  Quarry 
Company,  located  on  the  bank  of  the  river  where  the  relief  party 
crossed  the  stream.  The  building  was  probably  fifteen  by  twenty 
feet  and  consisted  of  two  rooms  down  stairs  and  as  many  above. 
There  were  twenty-eight  people  in  this  building  frightfully  burned, 
and  suffering  untold  agonies;  the  floors  of  the  lower  rooms  were 
covered  with  the  prostrate  forms  of  the  poor  sufferers,  whose  agony 
had  put  them  into  that  state  where  they  could  not  realize  or  appre- 
ciate their  condition.  The  faces  of  all  were  frightfuly  swollen  and 
distorted,  and  some  \\ere  suffering  such  agonies  as  were  impossible 
to  depict. 

The  doctors  of  the  party  at  once  began  their  humane  work,  as- 
sisted by  as  many  as  could  conveniently  work  with  them.  The 
other  members  of  the  relief  party  started  to  the  place  where  the 
town  of  Sandstone  had  existed,  each  one  carrying  on  his  shoulder 
a  long  handled  shovel  for  the  purpose  of  interring  the  dead.  Not  a 
particle  of  timber  or  a  board  \\as  left  where  the  town  had  once 
flourished,  and  upon  ascending  the  road  leading  up  through  a  ra- 
vine to  the  townsite,  they  were  at  once  brought  into  full  view  of 
the  ghastly  devastation  which  had  been  wrought  by  this  fearful  work 
of  the  elements.  Xo  evidence  remained  that  anyone  had  ever  ex- 
isted in  this  place,  excepting  only  by  the  groups  of  bodies,  indicat- 
ing the  familes  where  dwellings  had  once  stood.  But  two  cellars 
were  shown  in  the  town,  otherwise  it  would  have  appeared  as  thouglr 
there  had  been  no  habitation.  From  the  position  of  the  remains 
of  the  people  who  had  been  burned,  it  would  seem  that  they  had 
not  actually  suffered,  and  this  idea  is  borne  out  in  the  fact  that 
the  air  was  so  charged  with  gaseous  flame  that  their  lungs  must 
have  collapsed  immediately  after  it  was  inhaled.  Wherever  the  bodies 
were  found  indications  that  the  villagers  appreciated  the  frightful 
fate  that  was  in  store  for  them  were  apparent,  tor  nearly  all  laid 
on  their  faces,  with  their  arms'  covering  their  eyes.  Mothers  were 
found  lying  on  top  of  their  babies  as  if  in  the  endeavor  to  shelter 
them  from  the  frightful  heat,  which  followed  this  awful  holocaust. 


304 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  305 

In  nearly  every  instance  the  bodies  were  found  relieved  of  all  cloth- 
ing, the  intensity  of  the  fire  having  scorched  the  fabrics  so  that  they 
were  either  destroyed  or  blown  away  by  the  cyclone  following,  and  all 
lay  on  the  ground  in  a  position  indicating  rapid  motion,  or  an  en- 
deavor to  run  away  from  the  intensity  of  the  fire. 

The  relief  party,  during  that  sad  Monday's  experience  the  third 
day  of  September,  buried  sixty-one  people  in  the  town  of  Sandstone. 
The  burial  was  of  necessity  of  the  rudest  form.  The  bodies  were 
in  no  condition  to  remain  exposed  to  the  heat  of  the  atmosphere,  and 
as  no  official  relief  from  the  coroner  could  be  expected  at  that  time, 
they  were  simply  laid  in  trenches  not  over  two  feet  deep,  to  await 
the  arrival  of  the  county  officials.  Each  grave  was  carefully  marked 
so  that  later  on  the  various  bodies  could  be  identified.  Upon  re- 
turning at  about  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  to  the  river  bot- 
tom, it  was  found  that  those  left  in  charge  had  succeeded  in  reliev- 
ing as  much  as  possible  the  suffering  of  the  people  sheltered  in  the 
only  building  at  Sandstone,  and  while  some  had  died  in  the  mean- 
time and  were  duly  cared  for,  preparations  had  been  made  to  re- 
move the  others  to  West  Superior  or  Duluth  in  the  most  comfortable 
manner  possible.  The  bed  spring  which  had  been  relieved  of  its 
wooden  frame  by  the  fire,  was  rigged  up  into  a  stretcher,  and  a  piece 
of  canvas  brought  down  by  the  relief  committee  was  improvised 
into  another.  Upon  these  the  unconscious  were  laid  and  carefully 
carried  to  the  river.  The  only  means  of  crossing  was  the  same 
cranky  flat-bottom  skiff,  which  had  to  be  operated  so  carefully. 
The  rescued  were  laid,  one  at  a  time,  in  the  bottom  of  this  boat 
and  two  of  the  relief  party,  one  in  each  end  of  the  skiff,  propelled 
it  across  to  the  other  bank,  where  it  was  received,  and  its  freight 
carefully  taken  care  of  by  those  on  the  other  shore.  After  all  had 
had  been  carried  over  they  had  to  be  taken  off  by  main  strength, 
and  carried  up  the  rugged  cliffs  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  feet,  with 
no  path,  to  the  point  where  the  railroad  track  had  been. 

One  of  the  most  active  participants  of  this  relief  work  was  Mr. 
J.  N.  Hill,  son  of  Mr.  J.  J.  Hill,  who  seemed  to  be  tireless  in  his  en- 
deavors to  relieve  the  needy,  and  to  help  even  those  who  were  com- 
petent to  take  care  of  themselves.  In  order  to  make  the  journey 
of  the  burned  more  comfortable,  from  the  point  where  they  were 
carried  by  the  relief  party  at  the  top  of  the  bluffs  of  Kettle  river  to 
Partridge,  seven  miles,  he  had  made  two  or  three  trips  for  the  pur- 
pose of  getting  such  necessary  conveniences  as  could  be  strung 


306  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

between  two  hand  cars,  and  "thereby  make  slings  in  which  to  lay  the 
almost  lifeless  bodies  of  the  rescued.  Late  in  the  evening,  after  dis- 
comforts which  can  only  be  realized  by  those  who  were  active  par- 
ticipants, they,  with  their  unhappy  charges,  arrived  at  Partridge  where 
all  were  transferred  to  the  train  there  in  waiting,  and  were  afforded 
such  comforts  and  facilities  as  the  skilled  practitioners  who  were 
with  the  party  and  others  could  give  them. 

The  train  started  for  West  Superior  sometime  between  eight  and 
nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  and  arrived  there  about  midnight.  Com- 
munications had  been  passing  by  wire  between  that  city  and  the 
members  of  the  party,  so  that  upon  the  arrival  of  the  train  quarters 
had  been  provided  for  a  large  number  of  the  sufferers,  and  the  in- 
jured were  taken  to  the  hospitals. 

Immediately  the  news  was  known  in  St.  Paul  on  Saturday  night, 
that  the  fire  had  created  such  damage,  President  Samuel  Hill,  of  the 
Eastern  Minnesota  road,  Mr.  R.  I.  Farrington,  comptroller,  and 
others,  started  Sunday  morning,  September  second,  on  the  St.  Paul 
&  Duluth  road,  got  off  at  Finlayson,  and  walked  across,  several  miles, 
to  Sandstone,  then  returned  to  St.  Paul;  and  on  the  following  day 
President  Samuel  Hill  again,  in  order  to  see  if  he  could  do  anything 
to  help  the  sufferers,  came  to  Hinckley  on  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth,  and 
walked  from  Hinckley  to  Sandstone,  ten  miles,  where  he  met  the  re- 
lief train  party  above  mentioned,  which  was  then  engaged  in  their 
work  at  Sandstone. 

President  J.  J.  Hill,  at  the  time  of  the  fire,  was  in  Helena,  Mont., 
and  upon  receiving  advices  from  Duluth  of  the  extent  and  damage 
of  the  fire,  it  is  pleasant  to  remember,  that  not  considering  for  a 
moment  his  loss  or  the  loss  of  the  railroad  company,  his  first  thought 
was  for  the  distressed  people  who  had  been  burned  out,  and  he  im- 
mediately wired  authority  to  make  liberal  donations  of  money  on  his 
account,  and  to  give  instructions  to  do  everything  possible  for  the 
sufferers. 

On  Sunday  morning  following  the  fire,  Superintendent  W.  V.  S. 
Thorne,  Mr.  J.  J.  Hill,  Road  Master  Deviny,  and  others,  started  on 
a  special  work  train  for  the  scene  of  the  fire,  in  order  to  ascertain 
the  extent  of  the  damage,  no  one  realizing  at  that  time  that  the  road 
had  suffered  so  severely.  The  party  reached  Partridge  and  then 
walked  to  Sandstone,  taking  in  the  situation,  and  returning  to  West 
Superior  in  order  to  make  proper  reports  of  the  incidents  surround- 
ing the  disaster. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  F[RES.  307 

Mr.  Farrington,  general  manager  of  the  Eastern  Railway,  also 
did  all  in  his  power  to  help  in  the  work  of  mercy  and  reconstruction. 

Hie  second  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  relief  train,  which,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Major  Kinney,  left  Duluth  about  4  o'clock  p.  m.,  Sunday, 
September  2nd,  carried  a  liberal  supply  of  all  that  might  be  needed 
in  the  work  of  caring  for  the  victims.  There  were  baskets  of  food", 
gallons  of  coffee,  ice,  liquors,  clothing,  etc.,  and  among  the  relief 
party  were  several  surgeons,  two  trained  nurses  and  two  representa- 
tives of  the  Evening  Telegram,  Le  Roy  Thomas  and  L.  E.  Wharton, 

Xear  the  place  where  the  Hinckley  train  burned,  at  Skunk  Lake, 
the  party  alighted  and  began  a  search  in  the  darkness,  soon  coming 
upon  ten  bodies  which  had  been  gathered  from  the  neighborhood, 
and  further  on  were  eight  more.  In  a  short  time  a  figure  was  seen 
coming  through  the  darkness,  attracted  by  the  lights  of  the  train. 
He  was  ragged,  weary  and  disheartened  after  a  tramp  of  miles 
through  the  desolate  woods,  and  after  being  fed,  told  his  story  of  es* 
cape  from  the  flames  near  Hell  Gate,  and  gave  the  first  report  of  the 
total  destruction  of  Sandstone.  From  the  bodies  he  saw  in  his  walk 
over  the  town  site,  he  judged  the  mortality  great,  and  a  party  was 
immediately  formed  to  visit  the  scene,  and  hastily  gathering  such 
necessaries  as  could  be  carried,  started  under  guidance  of  the  in- 
formant. A  walk  of  three  miles  through  inky  darkness,  lighted  by 
flickering  lanterns,  brought  them  to  the  government  road. 

As  the  first  of  the  party  marched  along,  his  swinging  lantern  struck 
something  at  the  roadside,  which  a  glance  showed  to  be  the  body  of  a 
young  woman,  whose  arms,  stretched  upward  in  the  agony  of  death, 
had  caught  the  lantern. 

It  was  but  the  first  of  many  frightful  scenes.  Upon  the  whole  site 
there  was  no  sign  of  life;  but  descending  to  the  quarry  along  the 
river,  the  pa'rty  found  a  few  survivors  cowering  among  the  rocks  and 
in  the  little  quarry  office  building,  which  alone  escaped  the  flames, 
were  gathered  the  sick  and  injured,  crowded  thick  upon  the  floor.  It 
was  useless  to  attempt  their  removal  to  the  train  that  night,  so  nfter 
affording  all  relief  possible,  the  party  started  on  its  return,  expecting 
to  remove  the  sufferers  in  the  morning.  The  newspaper  men  con- 
cluded to  remain  and  spend  the  night  wandering  about  the  quarry; 
coming  upon  many  ghastly  evidences  of  the  fearful  flames,  and  as 
soon  as  daylight  came,  started  to  investigate  the  site  above,  and  in 
a  walk  of  an  hour,  counted  thirty-seven  half  burned  bodies  where 
their  homes  had  stood.  The  unnatural  heat  of  the  preceding  day 


308 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  309 

made  it  imperative  that  the  decaying  bodies  should  be  buried  at  once; 
and  so,  organizing  a  force,  the  work  was  prosecuted,  reinforced  later 
by  those  who  came  on  the  Eastern  Minnesota  train  about  noon. 
Sixty-two  bodies  were  hastily  covered  in  rude  graves,  marked  with 
such  surmise  as  to  their  identity  as  could  be  made,  and  the  party  re- 
turned, taking  with  it  such  survivors  as  could  be  moved. 

THE  BAILEY  EXPEDITION. 

Among  the  many  relief  expeditions  which  left  Duluth  for  the  re- 
lief of  the  fire  sufferers,  was  that  which  left  over  the  Eastern  Min- 
nesota thoroughly  to  explore  the  farms  and  environs  of  Sandstone, 
and  discover  and  minister  to  the  injured  and  bury  the  dead.  The 
company  was  under  the  efficient  direction  of  Mr.  William  T.  Bailey, 
an  experienced  lumberman,  and  Mr.  George  E.  Ash,  surveyor  gen- 
eral. There  were  in  the  party  about  thirty  skilled  woodmen,  who 
were  especially  valuable  in  making  a  thorough  examination  of  the 
country,  and  three  clergymen,  the  Rev.  Prof.  C.  A.  Pool,  of  Faribault, 
and  J.  H.  Sheridan  and  Albert  W.  Ryan,  of  Duluth.  The  train  left 
Duluth  about  3  a.  m.,  Tuesday,  September  4th,  and  arrived  at 
Partridge  about  6  a.  m.  Partridge  was  the  temporary  terminus  of 
the  railroad,  the  rest  of  the  track  being  destroyed  by  the  fire,  and 
was  about  six  miles  from  Sandstone.  The  remainder  of  the  journey 
was  made  on  foot  through  a  black  forest  burdened  with  an  ominous 
silence.  No  sound  of  beast  or  bird  or  insect  was  to  be  heard,  but 
on  every  side  were  dead  bodies  of  animals  and  the  trees  were  black 
and  stripped  to  their  utmost  boughs  by  the  all  devouring  flames. 
The  peat  was  still  burning  below  the  surface  and  the  heavy  rails  had 
been  seriously  bent  by  the  furious  heat.  At  Kettle  River,  the  party 
found  the  wooden  approaches  to  the  bridges  entirely  consumed,  but 
the  wires  and  bars  of  iron  stood  firm  and  uninjured  and  gracefully 
light,  one  hundred  and  forty  feet  high.  A  pon  boat  was  found  and 
all  were  ferried  over  to  the  town,  where  nothing  was  left  of  the 
houses  of  more  than  six  hundred  inhabitants  except  one  wretched 
office  and  a  tool  house.  Here  were  gathered  the  few  remaining  sur- 
vivors of  the  holocaust  of  the  previous  Saturday.  Clothes  and  food 
in  plenty  were  provided  for  them,  and  the  company  broke  up  into 
exploring  parties,  who  set  out  in  every  direction  where  any  were  re- 
ported to  be  missing.  Houses,  fences,  crops,  were  all  burned  with 
the  sole  exception  of  the  potatoes  which  seemed  mostly  uninjured. 
Often  in  walking,  the  feet  would  break  through  the  surface,  and  rest 


310  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FTRES. 

on  the  red  hot  coals  underneath.  One  party  at  length  reached  a 
farm  where  a  girl  was  reported  lost.  She  had  been  safely  lying  under 
a  wet  blanket  with  her  mother  and  the  other  children  when  she  de- 
cided that  she  would  seek  another  blanket  for  herself.  Her  mother 
remonstrated,  but  she  persisted.  After  her  departure  the  mother 
lifted  her  blanket  and  saw  a  vast  flame,  fifty  feet  high,  sweep  over  and 
engulf  her  child.  The  woodmen  found  her  poor  bod}  where  she  had 
dropped  after  running  wildly  about  four  hundred  feet,  the  last  twenty- 
five  of  which  she  had  probably  run  without  a  stich  of  clothing  on  her. 
A  poor  box  was  speedily  constructed,  a  grave  dug,  and  all  that 
was  mortal  of  her  body  was  laid  away,  while  the  last  offices  of  the 
church  were  being  said. 

Another  party,  was  not  so  fortunate  in  discovering  the  missing 
— the  bodies  being  evidently  reduced  to  ashes. 

On  their  return  to  Partridge  that  evening  the  clergy  found  that 
some  woodmen  had  discovered  the  body  of  a  man  who  had  been 
burned,  and  they  buried  it  as  decently  as  might  be  but  a  little  distance 
from  the  scene  of  his  death. 

Last  Tuesday  a  ghastly  find  was  made  in  Sandstone.  A  well  had 
been  dug,  but  proving  dry,  it  was  fitted  out  as  a  root  house.  It  was 
reported  that  there  were  some  bodies  here. 

A  little  of  the  surface  dirt  was  thrown  out  and  a  body  discovered, 
but  the  heat  was  so  intense  that  further  work  was  postponed  until 
the  morrow.  On  Wednesday,  the  well  was  opened  and  eighteen 
bodies  were  discovered,  decapitated,  dismembered,  fairly  cooked  in 
the  vapors  from  their  own  bodies.  Little  children,  men  and  women, 
were  fairly  jammed  into  a  space  about  six  by  six  feet.  It  was  as 
ghastly  and  revolting  a  sight  as  imagination  could  well  picture.  The 
bodies  were  carefully  examined,  placed  in  boxes,  and  carried  to  the 
cemetery,  where  graves  were  dug.  Then  amid  the  stillness  of  that 
scene  of  destruction,  the  men  standing  with  heads  reverently  uncov- 
ered, the  offices  of  the  church  were  said,  and  whole  families  rested  in 
a  common  tomb.  A  total  of  twenty-three  bodies  were  discovered 
and  decently  buried.  The  party  returned  to  Duluth,  Wednesday 
night  near  mid-night. 

The  following  were  in  the  expedition :  Robert  Londew,  Tim  Sheean, 
James  Lynn,  Thomas  Grady,  R.  J.  Ryan,  Sim  Lawler,  Charles 
Palmer,  William  McDonald,  James  E.  Drouillard,  Charles  Caughill, 
James  Neff,  Lea  Goodell,  William  Wardell,  Andy  Morris,  William 
D.  McLaren,  Dan  Husgy,  James  McKay,  J.  B.  Michell,  D.  Hannon, 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  311 

William  Hanley,  Thomas  Gagnon,  James  Robinson,  J.  O'Hara,  Allen 
McDonald,  William  Shear,  J.  W.  Schmidt,  William  P.  McDonald, 
W.  R.  McDougall. 

The  reader  will  form  some  conception  of  the  disagreeableness  of 
the  work  these  earnest  men  did,  when  it  is  stated  that  of  the  eighteen 
bodies  taken  out  of  the  root  house,  only  three  had  their  heads  on. 
All  were  in  a  state  of  decomposition.  These  men,  in  this  expedition, 
had  been  chosen  by  Mr.  Bailey  for  their  fitness,  there  was  not  one 
who  could  not  have  found  his  way  in  any  forest  with  a  compass  in  his 
hand.  All  were  intent  on  their  duty,  and  each  strove  to  do  his  full 
duty,  and  did  it  in  a  way  which  is  a  credit  to  human  nature.  When 
some  weeks  after  I  met  a  number  of  them  at  the  Spaulding  Hotel 
in  Duluth,  and  asked  them  to  send  me  a  photograph  of  themselves 
in  a  group,  they  spoke  of  all  they  had  done  as  being  little  indeed. 
Mr.  Bailey  said:  "We  did  only  what  any  men  would  have  done,  if 
they  had  been  in  our  places.  We  never  expected  fame,  and  we  do 
not  want  our  names  mentioned  in  the  matter." 

"Did  not  you  help  the  living  in  every  possible  way,  and  remove 
eighteen  dead  from  one  place?" 

"Yes;  it  was  only  our  duty." 

ouch  men  glorify  humanity,  and  build  mjfich  better  than  they  know. 
They  are,  as  Lowell  says: 

"The  bravely  dumb  that  did  their  deed 
And  scorned  to  blot  it  with  a  name, 
Men  of  plain  heroic  breed 
That  love  heaven's  silence  more  than  fame. 

The  den  they  enter  grows  a  shrine, 

The  grimy  sash  an  oriel  burns, 
Their  cup  of  water  warms  like  wine, 

Their  speech  is  filled  from  heavenly  urns." 

These  woodsmen  proved  this  September  day  what  true  and  high 
qualities  are  in  the  souls  of  many  men,  whose  hands  are  hard  and 
backs  are  bent  with  earnest  work,  and  I  have  placed  these  names  in 
this  roll  of  honor,  that  all  men  who  care  may  read  this  story  of  their 

service. 

MRS.  DAVID  BUCHMAN. 

RKV.  WILLIAM  WILKINSON,  DEAR  SIR: 

I  have  been  requested  by  the  committee  who  compiled  the  enclosed 
account  of  the  work  of  the  Ladies'  Relief  Society  for  the  sufferers 


312 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MRS.  A.  M.  MILLER. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  313 

from  the  Hinckley  fire,  to  state  to  you  that  this  account  is  correct 
and  that  they  would  prefer  that  it  should  be  published  in  this  form. 

THE  LADIES'  RELIEF  SOCIETY. 

It  wa's  no  small  task  for  Duluth  to  take  in,  house,  clothe  and  feed 
the  1,200  refugees  who  came  here  from  the  Hinckley  fire;  yet  all 
these  people  were  made  comfortable  and  were  well  provided  for  from 
the  very  outset.  The  Ladies'  Relief  Society  was  a  most  conspicuous 
and  most  efficient  means  of  meeting  the  emergency.  Their  previous 
training  in  city  relief  work,  well  prepared  them  for  the  occasion,  and 
their  zeal  and  effective  work  never  failed  during  the  trying  days 
which  followed,  each  with  its  own  peculiar  kind  of  need  to  be  met. 

When  the  fire  relief  train  arrived  on  Saturday  night,  two  of  the 
ladies  met  the  mayor  and  proffered  the  assistance  of  the  society,  but 
on  his  assurance  that  all  preparation  had  been  made  for  their  care 
that  night  by  the  city,  under  the  direction  of  Chief  of  Police  Arm- 
strong, nothing  was  done  until  the  next  morning,  when  at  6  o'clock 
the  headquarters  of  the  Ladies'  Relief  Society  in  the  Lyceum  Build- 
ing were  opened.  To  these  rooms  were  brought  and  donated  the 
600  new  garments  made  by  the  society  and  in  hand.  At  9  a.  m.  fifty 
workers  were  busy  distributing  clothing  to  those  previously  arrived, 
which  generous  citizens  had  contributed  in  sufficient  quantities  al- 
most to  fill  the  room. 

During  the  morning  a  committee  from  the  Ladies'  Relief  Head- 
quarters was  sent  to  the  union  station  to  distribute  the  refugees 
among  the  different  families  who  had  offered  to  care  for  them,  in  or- 
der to  make  room  for  the  incoming  trains. 

The  ladies  sent  by  the  relief  train  which  left  during  the  night,  forty- 
seven  sacks  of  clothing,  together  with  fifty  pair  of  blankets,  disin- 
fectants, medicines,  chemicals  and  bandages,  to  the  scene  of  the  fire, 
that  the  bodies  of  the  dead  might  be  suitably  cared  for  before  inter- 
ment, and  all  necessary  care  given  to  the  living.  The  work  was 
conducted  at  four  different  points,  the  Lyceum,  Armory,  Bethel  and 
the  Glass  Block.  After  eight  days  the  room  in  the  Lyceum  proving 
too  small,  the  headquarters  were  transferred  to  the  Mann  Block, 
where  the  work  continued  until  the  state  committee  took  charge. 

Some  idea  of  the  onerous  duties  there  accomplished  may  be  gath- 
ered, when  it  is  realized  that  much  of  the  time  sixty-eight  ladies  were 
constantly  at  work,  and  no  less  than  twenty-two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  ninety-one  garments  were  given  out,  together  with  fifteen 


314  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

hundred  pairs  of  shoes,  many  hundred  yards  of  new  material  and 
household  goods,  not  including  furniture  which  was  furnished  by  the 
Central  Committee. 

The  relief  train  which  arrived  at  noon  on  Sunday  brought  in  three 
hundred  men,  women  and  children,  who  were  immediately  sent  to  the 
Bethel,  where  they  were  fed,  bathed  and  clothed  under  the  direction 
of  the  Ladies'  Relief  Society.  This  work  at  the  Bethel  was  continud 
for  nearly  a  month,  the  places  of  those  leaving  the  city  being  filled 
by  others  stopping  at  various  homes  and  churches.  Many  of  the 
men,  returning  to  rebuild  homes,  left  their  families  in  charge  of  the 
committee  at  this  point. 

The  Glass  Block  was  another  center  of  activity  and  no  less  than 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  were  clothed  and  given  comfortable 
beds. 

The  Armory  in  the  Howard  Block  furnished  meals  to  all  the  refu- 
gees who  were  not  elsewhere  -entertained.  Hundreds  were  fed  each 
day  on  excellent  food  which  was  bountifully  provided,  and  many 
of  the  ladies  of  the  city,  unused  to  such  labors,  willingly  acted  as 
Relief  Society  in  charge  at  this  point.  All  those  not  provided  with 
clothing  at  other  places  were  supplied  by  the  society  at  the  Armory. 
Some  of  the  refugees  were  also  cared  for  by  the  Congregational, 
Presbyterian  and  Episcopal  churches.  Clothing  was  furnished  to 
each  of  these  churches  when  needed,  from  the  Ladies'  Relief  Head- 
quarters. Here  and  there  throughout  the  city,  ladies  who  were  not 
otherwise  occupied,  were  busy  cutting  out  and  making  or  repairing 
garments  for  which  the  Ladies'  Relief  Society  had  need.  Not  only 
the  present  needs  of  every  refugee  were  looked  after,  but  two 
additional  suits  of  winter  clothing  were  provided,  thus  preparing 
them  for  the  reasonable  demands  of  the  future. 

Refugees,  being  cared  for  by  families  throughout  the  city  also 
received  their  full  quota  from  the  Ladies'  Relief  Headquarters. 
MRS.  DAVID  BUCHMAX,  Secretary  Ladies'  Relief  Society. 

Together  with  other  generous  relief  work  done  in  Duluth,  during 
the  extreme  want  which  followed  the  great  Hinckley  fire,  that  done 
by  the  ladies  of  the  Episcopal  Church  should  not  be  forgotton.  The 
demand  for  dormitory  accommodations  increased  constantly  all  day 
Sunday.  By  Monday,  the  ladies  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  who  were  not 
otherwise  occupied  with  the  Ladies'  Relief  Society  work,  secured 
vhat  is  known  as  the  Berkleman  Block,  generously  offered  by  Mr. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  315 

W.  E.  Lucas.  Here  beds  were  speedily  provided  and  fire  sufferers 
immediately  accommodated.  Meals  were  supplied  at  the  Armory, 
about  two  blocks  distant,  by  the  city  authorities  and  the  Ladies'  Re- 
lief Society. 

For  eight  days,  a  varying  number  of  men,  women,  and  children 
were  comfortably  housed,  and  even  furnished  with  medical  attend- 
ance, when  that  was  necessary.  The  largest  number  cared  for  was 
eighty-six  men,  thirty-two  women,  and  ninety-six  children,  making  a 
total  of  two  hundred  and  fourteen.  Later,  all  the  women  and  chil- 
dren were  taken  to  the  Bethel,  but  the  men  were  housed  for  ten  days 
more. 


316 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


J.  J.  HILL. 


TWO  HARBORS. 

T  HROUGH  all  the  reports  in  the  press  at  the  time  of  the  fire, 
Two  Harbors  received  little,  if  any  attention.  The  readers  of 
the  report  of  what  was  done  by  the  hardy  sons  of  toil  who  live  here 
must  keep  in  mind  that  this  is  a  new  place,  and  the  people  have  had 
all  the  expense  attendant  upon  moving  to  a  distant  locality,  and  are 
engaged  in  seeking  prosperity,  which  in  part  they  have  found,  and 
the  fullness  of  which  they  deserve  to  obtain.  This  was  the  second 
time  they  had  been  called  upon  to  help  fire  sufferers  in  one  summer, 
and  the  whole-souled  way  in  which  they  responded,  shows  the  kind 
of  people  who  live  in  Two  Harbors.  It  has  been  said  they  gave 
more  per  head  than  any  place  outside  of  Pine  and  Chisago  counties. 
What  by  way  of  moral  achievements  may  not  be  expected  from  such 
a  people  as  those  who  are  laying  the  foundations  of  this  northern 
town. 

CITIZENS'  RELIEF  MASS  MEETING. 

"At  noon  Saturday  a  brisk  southwest  wind,  hot  as  the  breath  of  a 
furnace,  was  blowing,  the  atmosphere  being  very  hazy.  At  3  o'clock 
the  heavens  were  shrouded  with  a  sulphurous  hue,  suggesting  an 
approaching  storm.  Two  hours  later  the  atmosphere  was  filled  with 
smoke,  cinders  and  ashes.  It  had  become  dark  as  night  and  lamps 
were  lighted.  A  red  flush  covering  the  entire  heavens  gave  to  it  the 
semblance  of  the  canopy  of  hades,  and  the  average  sinners  felt  that 
the  forerunner  of  the  wrath  to  come  was  with  them.  Kerosene  lamps 
burned  with  a  flare  as  blue  and  clear  as  an  arc  light,  a  singlar  phen- 
omenon of  the  atmospheric  conditions  resultant  from  the  great 
fires,  which  obliterated  Hinckley  and  other  prosperous  towns,  and 
devastated  the  surrounding  country.  All  night  long  and  part  of 
Sunday  the  ashes  fell,  their  silent  and  peaceful  settling  back  to 
earth  little  indicating  the  roar  of  the  breakers  of  flame,  and  tortured 
shrieks  which  preceded  their  long  flight. 

Sunday  morning  meager  reports  of  the  frightful  calamity  reached 


318  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES 

here.  Monday,  when  the  first  tangible  intelligence  of  the  extent  of 
the  calamity  was  received,  measures  were  taken  to  contribute  relief. 
Monday  afternoon  packages  of  clothing  hastily  gathered,  and  a  box 
of  socks  and  shirts  contributed  by  the  Bankrupt  Store,  were  forward- 
ed to  the  relief  committee  at  Duluth.  Monday  evening  a  mass  meet- 
ing was  held  at  the  court  house.  The  secretary's  report,  published 
below,  indicates  that  those  present  were  there  for  business. 

Two  HARBORS,  MINN.,  Sept.  3,  1894. 

A  mass  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Two  Harbors,  held  in  the  court 
house  on  Monday,  September  third,  at  which  William  Moulton  was 
chosen  chairman  and  Theo.  Hannon  secretary,  it  was  decided  to  draw 
up  a  set  of  resolutions,  asking  the  governor  of  the  state  of  Minnesota 
to  take  action  looking  to  the  immedi?te  relief  of  the  sufferers  in  the 
great  fire  at  Hinckley  and  adjacent  country.  The  following  resolu- 
tions were  presented  by  Theo.  Hannon  and  unanimously  adopted  by 
a  vote  of  the  meeting: 

"Whereas,  We  deeply  deplore  the  terrible  calamity  which  has  be- 
fallen our  unfortunate  neighbors  in  the  burned  district  of  Hinckley 
and  adjacent  territory;  and, 

"Whereas,  We  highly  appreciate  the  inefficiency  of  individual  effort 
to  adequately  care  for  those  poor  sufferers  and  provide  food,  clothing 
and  shelter  therefor  during  the  approaching  inclement  winter;  now, 
therefore,  be  it 

"Resolved,  That  we,  the  citizens  of  Lake  county  in  mass  meeting 
assembled,  respectfully  petition  the  governor,  the  Honorable  Knute 
Nelson,  of  the  State  of  Minnesota,  to  adopt  such  measures  as  to  him 
shall  seem  advisable  for  the  appropriating  of  money  from  the  abun- 
dance of  the  state  treasury  of  the  State  of  Minnesota,  for  the  purpose 
of  rebuilding  the  homes  of  the  survivors  of  that  most  terrible  catas- 
trophe. 

'Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  duly  signed  by  the 
chairman  and  attested  by  the  secretary  of  this  meeting  be  forwarded 
by  early  mail  to  his  excellency,  the  governor  of  the  State  of  Min- 
nesota." 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Coggswell,  a  committee  of  ten  ladies  and  five 
gentlemen  which  was  afterwards  changed  to  eight  gentlemen,  was 
appointed  to  solicit  food,  clothing  and  money  for  the  relief  of  the 
fire  sufferers.  The  committee  were  as  follows: 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRMS.  319 

Mesdames  Coggswell,  Budd,  Rose,  Therrien,  Hanna,  Gufert, 
Floathe,  Cotter,  Tracy. 

Messrs.  Moulton,  Bury,  Rock,  Hannon,  Falk,  Munford,  W.  A. 
Doerr. 

A  letter  was  handed  in  containing  twenty  dollars  and  fifty  cents 
as  a  donation  from  the  crew  on  the  steamer  Washburn.  On  motion 
of  John  Brown  a  vote  of  thanks  was  tendered  the  crew  of  the  steamer 
Washburn  for  their  generosity. 

On  motion  the  corner  store  in  Brick  Block  was  selected  as  head- 
quarters for  the  relief  committee.  On  motion  George  Munford  was 
elected  as  chairman  of  committee  to  receive  and  pack  goods. 

On  a  call  being  made  for  financial  contribution  names  were  given 
with  amounts  opposite,  making  a  total  on  the  night  of  meeting,  in- 
cluding the  steamer  Washburn,  of  $363.50. 

The  committees  were  at  work  early  Tuesday  morning  and  the  re- 
sult of  their  efforts  was  soon  manifest.  Clothing  began  to  come 
in  lively,  and  many  who  had  but  recently  sent  all  spare  garments  to 
Phillips,  contributed  cash.  Nearly  every  family  in  the  village  con- 
tributed something,  those  without  money  dividing  their  supply  of 
clothing.  There  were  contributions  of  goods  from  the  stores.  H. 
Hanson  sent  up  a  good  sized  box  of  shoes,  and  H.  Silberstein  &  Co. 
gave  five  dollars  in  clothing  from  stock.  George  Munford,  who 
had  charge  of  the  packing,  shipped  several  large  boxes  Wednesday, 
their  contents  being  estimated  to  be  five  hundred  dollars  in  value. 

Tuesday,  Foreman  Headly  made  a  canvass  of  the  car  shops  for 
cash  contributions,  and  collected  one  hundred  and  fifteen  dollars  in 
a  very  short  time. 

The  Ellsburg  employes,  engaged  in  sloping  and  filling  north  of 
Dock  Xo.  i,  made  up  a  purse  of  forty-nine  dollars  and  fifty  cents. 
John  Runquist,  John  Elsberg,  P.  J.  Anderson  and  Alex  Carlson 
each  gave  five  dollars,  and  the  remainder  was  in  amounts  from  twen- 
ty-five cents  to  one  dollar.  The  boys  did  well. 

The  aggregate  of  all  cash  subscriptions  is  the  magnificent  sum  of 
nine  hundred  and  forty-three  dollars  and  ninety-five  cents,  which 
has  been  forwarded  to  the  relief  committee  at  Duluth  for  disposal. 
Add  the  other  contributions,  and  Two  Harbors'  offering  is  in  the 
vicinity  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars.  President  Moulton  informed  the 
Duluth  committee,  while  in  that  city  Monday,  that  in  Two  Harbors 
was  more  benevolence  to  the  square  inch  than  in  any  town  in  the 
universe.  The  people  have  emphasized  his  statement. 


320  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

Duluth  Division,  Order  of  Railway  Conductors,  at  their  meeting- 
Sunday,  appropriated  twenty-five  dollars  from  the  lodge  funds  for 
the  relief  of  the  sufferers  from  the  great  forest  fires. 

Two  Harbors  Lodge,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  notified 
the  grand  officers  Wednesday  morning,  to  draw  on  their  lodge  for 
twenty-five  dollars  for  the  relief  of  any  brethren  rendered  destitute 
by  the  HincKiey  fire. 

Misses  Hitchcock,  Marble  and  Booth,  while  en  route  to  Two 
Harbors,  Saturday,  to  enter  on  their  duties  as  teachers  in  the  village 
schools,  passed  through  Hinckley  about  one  hour  preceding  the  de- 
struction of  that  village.  At  that  time  fires  were  burning  along  the 
tracks,  and  the  smoke  and  heat  rendered  the  trip  disagreeable,  and 
caused  much  uneasiness  among  passengers. 

Whenever  there's  a  treasurer  of  a  charitable  fund  to  elect.  Dean 
Burk  makes  a  winning.  Tuesday  he  was  the  hardest  worked  man 
in  town,  entering  deposits  in  the  fire  fund.  This  is  one  of  the  de- 
lights of  being  a  banker. 


KEPORT  OF  ST.  PAUL  RELIEF  COMMITTEE. 

A|  IXUTES  of  the  proceedings  of  the  executive  committee  of  the 
General  Relief  Committee  of  St.  Paul,  organized  for  the  aid 
of  the  suf-'erers  by  the  fires  at  Hinckley  and  other  points  on  Septem- 
ber 3rd,  1894,  at  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  building. 

This  Executive  Committee  appointed  by  the  General  Relief  Com- 
mittee, consists  of  the  following  persons:  E.  W.  Peet,  C.  W.  Hack- 
ett,  J.  J.  McCardy,  George  Benz,  Thomas  Cochran,  W.  J.  Footner 
and  W.  H.  Lightner.  The  first  meeting  of  the  committee  was  held 
at  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  building  on  September  3rd,  1894,  at 
12:30.  Mr.  Peet  was  elected  chairman,  and  Mr.  Lightner  elected 
secretary. 

On  motion  it  was  resolved  that  there  be  appointed  a  finance  com- 
mittee of  five  members;  said  committee  having  power  and  authority 
to  solicit  and  receive  subscriptions  and  report  the  same  to  this  ex- 
ecutive committee.  All  subscriptions  to  be  turned  over  to  the 
treasurer,  W.  B.  Bend,  and  said  committee  on  finance  to  have  power 
to  appoint  subcommittees  to  aid  them  in  their  work. 

On  motion  the  following  was  chosen  as  such  finance  committee: 
W.  B.  Bend,  chairman,  W.  H.  Lindeke,  E.  J.  Hodgson,  H.  C.  Mc- 
Xair  and  Richards  Gordon. 

On  motion  a  committee  on  supplies  office  was  created,  to  have 
power  to  solicit  and  receive  all  contributions  other  than  cash,  to  have 
charge  of  the  depot  of  supplies  ?.nd  to  appoint  subcommittees  to  aid 
in  their  work,  said  committee  io  report  to  this  executive  committee. 

On  motion  the  following  were  appointed  a  committee  on  supplies: 
W.  L.  Wilson,  chairman,  M.  L.  Hutchins,  M.  J.  O'Connor,  E.  Vanish 
and  James  F.  Jackson. 

The  committee  then  arose  to  report  their  action  to  the  General* 
Relief  Committee;  said  action  being  reported  to  the  General  Relief 
Committee  was  ratified  and  approved. 

It  was  then  unanimously  agreed  by  the  committee  that  the  com- 
mittee should  meet  each  day  at  12  o'clock  at  the  Commercial  Club 


322 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MAYOR  SMITH. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  323 

rooms,  the  use  of  which  were  kindly  tendered  by  the  president,  W.  J. 
Footner. 

The  meeting  then  adjourned  to  8  o'clock  p.  m.,  at  the  Commercial 
Club.  W.  H.  LIGHTXER, 

Secretary. 

Meeting  of  the  executive  committee  held  at  8  p.  m.,  September  3rd, 
1894.  Present  Messrs.  Peet,  Hackett,  McCardy,  Cochran,  Footner, 
Benz  and  Lightner. 

Mr.  Kingsbury,  on  behalf  of  the  Opera  House  and  the  company 
now  presenting  the  play  the  ''Devil's  Auction,"  were  present,  and 
offered  as  a  donation  all  of  the  receipts  for  the  Friday  night,  Septem- 
ber seventh,  entertainment  over  one-half  of  the  receipts  based  upon 
the  usual  prices;  Mr.  Kingsbury  explained  by  this  it  meant  that  if 
the  committee  'Saw  fit  to  sell  tickets  at  a  higher  price  than  the  usual 
rates  the  opera  house  would  only  retain  one-half  of  the  usual  price 
of  such  tickets,  the  committee  thus  receiving  the  entire  benefits  of  the 
increased  price.  On  motion  the  offer  was  accepted  and  it  was  or- 
dered that  the  secretary  communicate  the  offer  to  the  finance  com- 
mittee with  the  request  that  they  act  upo'n  it  and  communicate  with 
Mr.  Kingsbury. 

Mr.  Tarns  Bixby  being  present  read  telegrams  from  Duluth,  Pine 
City  and  other  points.  Mr.  Hackett  addressed  the  committee  on 
the  necessity  of  careful  action  in  the  distribution  of  funds  in  order 
that  they  be  properly  applied. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Cochran  the  following  resolution  was  adopted: 
Resolved  that  Gov.  Nelson  appoint  a  state  commission  authorized 
to  receive  contributions  of  money  and  supplies  for  the  relief  of  the 
sufferers  by  the  forest  fires  and  expend  and  distribute  the  same. 

Mr.  Hackett  moved  that  the  committee  on  supplies  be  requsted  to 
forward  to  Pine  City  at  once  all  hospital  supplies,  and  that  Mr.  James 
F.  Jackson  be  requested  to  proceed  to  Pine  City  to  direct  the  distri- 
bution of  the  same  and  to  advise  this  committee  as  to  the  necessities 
of  action. 

At  the  request  of  Mr.  Bixby  this  committee  considered  the  name 
of  some  person  to  represent  St.  Paul  in  the  state  commission  and' 
by  unanimous  vote  instructed  the  secretary  to  recommend  Mr.  Ken- 
neth Clark  for  such  position.  • 

W.  H.  LIGHTNER,  Secretary. 

Meeting  of  the  executive  committee  held  September  4th,  1894,  at 


324  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

12  m.  All  members  of  the  committee  being  present.  Air.  Feet  in 
the  chair. 

A  committee  of  gentlemen  representing  the  society  of  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen  offered  a  donation  of  one  thousand  dol- 
lars. On  motion  this  was  accepted  with  thanks  and  a  request  made 
that  they  pay  the  same  to  W.  B.  Bend,  treasurer. 

Mr.  George  R.  Finch  presented  to  the  committee  a  communication 
from  W.  R.  Bourne  in  regard  to  the  suffering  of  people  at  Cumber- 
land and  Shell  Lake,  Wisconsin,  and  in  the  vicinity.  (Exhibit  i.) 

A  report  was  received  from  the  treasurer  of  contributions  received 
by  him  since  the  meeting  of  yesterday  morning,  amounting  to  five 
hundred  and  forty-seven  dollars. 

The  secretary  was  instructed  to  request  that  the  chairmen  of  the 
committees  on  finance  and  supplies  attend  the  noon  meetings  of  this 
committee. 

On  motion  of  Air.  Hackett  it  was  resolved  that  the  committee  on 
supplies  be  requested  to  send  to  the  relief  committees  at  Cumberland 
and  Shell  Lake,  Wisconsin,  such  supplies  as  may  be  deemed  neces- 
sary. 

On  motion  of  Air.  Lightner  it  was  resolved  that  the  treasurer  be 
instructed  to  pay  to  W.  L.  Wilson,  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
supplies,  the  sum  of  one  hundred  dollars,  to  be  expended  and  ac- 
counted for  by  said  committee  on  supplies. 

Bishop  Gilbert,  who  at  the  request  of  the  general  committee,  vis- 
ited Pine  City  and  returned  this  morning,  made  a  verbal  report  to 
the  committee  of  the  situation  at  Pine  City  and  in  the  vicinity. 
Among  other  things  he  stated  that  F.  A.  Hodge,  of  Pine  City,  is 
treasurer  of  the  relief  committee  at  that  point,  that  it  was  determined 
at  Pine  City  to  request  that  no  further  supplies  or  money  be  sent 
except  upon  requisition  from  the  committee  at  Pine  City.\  Bishop 
Gilbert  stated  that  the  estimate  last  night  at  the  scene  was  that  out 
of  a  population  of  sixteen  hundred  at  Hinckley  and  three  adjoining 
towns  the  dead  numbered  four  hundred,  the  homeless  twelve  hun- 
dred, of  which  eight  hundred  were  destitute. 

Col.  Bunker  (C.  S.)  also  reported  on  the  situation  at  Hinckley. 

A  telegraphic  report  from  Air.  Jackson,  who  had  proceeded  to 
Pine  City  as  instructed  at  the  last  meeting,  was  then  presented  and 
read.  (Exhibit  3.) 

On  motion  of  Air.  Benz  it  was  resolved  that  the  treasurer  send 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  325 

$500  to  F.  A.  Hodge,  treasurer  of  the  relief  committee  at  Pine  City, 
to  be  used  for  pressing  necessities. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Lightner  it  was  resolved  that  a  committee  of 
three  on  transportation  be  appointed;  said  committee  to  have  charge 
of  transportation  matters,  including  the  obtaining  of  free  transporta- 
tion for  the  fire  sufferers  and  for  other  purposes;  said  committee  to 
report  to  the  executive  committee.  On  motion  the  following  were 
appointed  as  said  committee:  George  R.  Finch,  chairman,  Walter 
A.  Scott  and  George  Benz. 

A  party  from  the  fire  district  desiring  transportation,  who  was  pres- 
ent at  the  meeting,  was  referred  to  this  committee. 

Mr.  Gregg,  of  the  firm  of  Nichols  &  Dean,  briefly  presented  to  the 
committee  the  necessities  of  the  people  in  the  vicinity  of  Milaca. 

On  motion  the  meeting  adjourned. 

W.  H.  LIGHTNER,  Secretary. 

Meeting  of  the  executive  committee  held  September  5th,  1894,  at 
12  m.     Present  the  entire  committee,  Mr.  Peet  in  the  chair. 
Th  chairman  presented  communications  as  follows: 

1.  Letter  from  James  F.  Jackson,  at  Pine  City.     (Exhibit  4.) 

2.  Later  dispatch  from  James  F.  Jackson.     (Exhibit  5.) 

3.  Dispatch  from  Thomas  Cochran,  at  Milwaukee.     (Exhibit  6.) 
The  chairman  stated  that  he  had  communicated  the  contents  of  the 
telegram  to  Gov.  Xelson. 

4.  Letter  from  the  secretary  of  Mayor  Smith  communicating  the 
offer  of  Dr.  O'Brien  to  furnish  nurses. 

5.  Letter  from  Mayor  Smith  enclosing  letter  from  X.  H.  Danforth, 
president  of  village  of  Mora. 

6.  Verbal  report  to  the  effect  that  twenty-five  refugees  from  the 
village  of  Mora  had  arrived  and  had  been  taken  charge  of  by  Capt. 
Hart  and  Gen.  Bunker,  and  placed  in  the  Minnesota  Home  in  St. 
Paul,  and  that  Dr.  Ancker  had  taken  charge  of  the  sick  and  injured 
among  them.     Supplies  and  clothing  ordered  to  be  sent  them.     Mr. 
Wilson,  chairman  of  committee  on  supplies,  being  present,  reported* 
that  he  had  charge  of  these  refugees. 

Mr.  Finch  reported  that  he  had  accompanied  the  supplies  to 
Cumberland  and  Shell  Lake  last  evening  and  he  had  personally 
superintended  their  delivery. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Benz,  Mr.  Finch  was  added  as  a  member  of  the 
executive  committee. 


326 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  PIPES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  327 

Gen.  W.  B.  Bend  made  a  verbal  report  of  the  committee  on 
finance,  stating  that  the  subcommittees  on  collections  had  been  ap- 
pointed and  started  out  on  their  work;  that  he  had  received  in  cash 
since  yesterday's  report  from  new  subscriptions,  nineteen  hundred 
and  forty-three  dollars  and  forty-five  cents,  also  a  check  from  the 
Austin-Corben '  Banking  Company,  of  New  York,  for  five  hundred 
dollars;  also  from  the  New  York  Life  Insurance  Company  one 
thousand  dollars,  being  five  hundred  dollars  formerly  subscribed  and 
five  hundred  additional;  also  that  he  had  received  subscriptions  of 
Smith  &  Parker,  twenty-five  dollars.  The  treasurer  also  reported 
that  he  had  disbursed  five  hundred  dollars  to  F.  A.  Hodge,  treasurer 
at  Pine  City,  and  one  hundred  dollars  to  Mr.  Wilson,  chairman  of 
committee  on  supplies,  as  directed  by  the  committee  yesterday. 

Resolved  that  all  applications  for  temporary  relief  in  St,  Paul  be  re- 
ferred to  the  committee  on  supplies  for  investigation  and  action. 

It  was  also  resolved  that  the  secretary  cause  notices  to  be  given  to 
the  public  through  the  public  press  requesting  that  applications  made 
in  St.  Paul  by  parties  for  relief  be  referred  to  the  committee  on  sup- 
plies, and  asking  the  public  to  contribute  furniture  and  household 
goods.  And  also  announcing  that  nurses  and  laborers  were  not 
needed  at  the  scene  of  the  fire.  Air.  H.  H.  Hart  being  present, 
made  a  verbal  report  of  the  situation  at  Pine  City. 

On  behalf  of  the  Amateur  Base  Ball  Clubs  of  St.  Paul  and  Min- 
neapolis, it  was  stated  that  a  base  ball  game  would  be  held  at  Minnea- 
polis on  Saturday  of  this  week  for  the  benefit  of  the  fire  sufferers, 
half  of  the  proceeds  to  be  turned  over  to  the  relief  committee  of  Min- 
neapolis and  half  to  the  relief  committee  of  St.  Paul. 

On  motion  this  offer  was  accepted  with  thanks  and  it  was  directed 
that  the  proceeds  be  paid  to  the  treasurer  of  the  committee. 

Mr.  Benz,  on  behalf  of  the  Beethoven  String  Quartet,  tendered  to 
the  committee  the  proceeds  of  a  concert  to  be  given  by  that  organiza- 
tion at  Ford's  Hall  on  Friday  evening  of  this  week. 

On  motion  the  offer  was  accepted  with  thanks  and  the  proceeds 
directed  to  be  turned  over  to  the  treasurer. 

On  motion  the  meeting  adjourn 

W.  H.  LIGHTNER,  Secretary. 

Meeting  of  executive  committee  held  September  6th,  1894,  at  12  m. 
Present  the  entire  committee,  except  Mr.  Cochran.  Mr.  Peet  in  the 
chair. 

Mr.  Peet  presented  a  letter  from  Mr.  Cochran. 


328  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FJEES. 

Air.  Peet  presented  the  offer  of  Mrs.  H.  E.  Pond  to  act  as  nurse. 
The  secretary  was  instructed  to  acknowledge  the  same. 

The  treasurer  presented  a  report  of  subscriptions  and  cash  received. 
(Exhibit  n.)  The  substance  of  which  was  as  follows:  Cash  received 
since  last  report,  two  thousand  and  four  dollars  and  fifty  cents.  Prior 
cash  subscriptions  paid,  six  thousand  five  hundred  and  seven  dollars 
and  forty-five  cents.  Total  cash  received,  eight  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  eleven  dollars  and  ninety-five  cents.  Disbursed  on  order 
of  executive  committee,  six  hundred  dollars.  In  addition  to  the 
above  the  unpaid  subscriptions  amount  to  eleven  hundred  and  fifty- 
five  dollars. 

A  committee  at  Shakopee  reported  they  had  clothing  and  other 
articles  ready  to  ship,  and  offered  to  turn  them  over  to  our  com- 
mittee on  supplies.  The  offer  was  accepted.  The  committee  further 
offered  on  behalf  of  the  city  of  Shakopee  to  send  supplies  to  the 
amount  of  four  hundred  dollars  as  ordered.  On  motion  this  offer 
was  accepted.  It  was  stated  that  Jacob  Reis,  Sr.,  is  chairman  of  the 
Skakopee  committee. 

A  telegram  was  received  from  Mr.  Jackson,  at  Pine  City,  making 
requisition  for  certain  supplies  and  provisions.  On  motion  it  was 
referred  to  the  committee  on  supplies  with  instructions  to  fill  the  req- 
uisition purchasing  such  supplies  called  for  and  not  on  hand. 

On  motion  Mr.  F.  A.  Abbott  was  added  to  the  committee  on  sup- 
plies. 

On  motion  Mr.  Hackett  was  chosen  vice  chairman  of  this  com- 
mittee. 

Mr.  La  Grave  presented  an  offer  to  the  committee  to  give  a  stere- 
optican  entertainment,  of  which  seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  gross 
proceeds  should  be  paid  to  the  relief  committee  for  the  sufferers. 
On  motion  this  offer  w?as  accepted  and  the  matter  referred  to  the 
finance  committee.  W.  H.  LIGHTNER,  Secretary. 

Meeting  of  the  executive  committee  held  September  I5th,  1894. 
Present,  Messrs.  Peet,  McCardy,  Cochran  and  Footner.  Air.  Foot- 
ner  was  chosen  to  act  as  secretary  pro  tern. 

On  motion  of  Air.  Cochran  it  was  resolved  that  James  F.  Jackson 
be  paid  for  one-half  of  September  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  dollars 
per  month  and  actual  expenses,  and  that  the  treasurer  be  authorized 
to  settle  with  him  accordingly.  Also  that  the  act  of  the  chairman  in 
transferring  the  services  of  Air.  Jackson  to  the  state  commission  be 
approved 


FOREST  FIRES.  329 

A  report  of  the  treasurer  (Exhibit  20),  showing  the  total  receipt? 
to  date  of  nineteen  thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty-four  dollars 
and  ninety-nine  cents  was  presented. 

A  donation  of  twenty  dollars  from  Rachel  and  Gertrude  Hill  and 
their  young  friends,  was  turned  in  and  directed  to  be  sent  to  the 
treasurer. 

A  communication  from  M.  L.  Hutchins,  secretary  for  the  relief  of 
the  poor,  concerning  the  fire  sufferers  at  Otter  Tail  county,  was  read 
and  referred  to  the  state  commission  for  further  investigation  and 
such  action  as  they  deem  proper. 

Meeting  of  the  executive  committee  held  September  i8th,  1894. 

Air.  Wilson  reported  the  case  of  William  Holm  burned  at  Crom- 
well, who  lost  his  mill  and  house.  Also  on  a  case  of  a  woman  with 
six  children,  whose  husband  was  burned  at  Hinckley. 

On  motion  it  was  resolved  that  all  cases  requiring  permanent  re- 
lief be  referred  to  the  state  commission,  and  that  the  state  commission 
be  informed  of  this  action  and  also  be  advised  that  this  committee  will 
aid  the  state  commission  in  furnishing  persons  who  will  aid  them  in 
attending  to  such  cases. 

W.  H.  LIGHTNER,  Secretary. 

Meeting  of  the  executive  committee  held  September  24th,  1894,  at 
12  o'clock,  at  Commercial  Club  rooms. 

The  secretary  reported  an  interview  with  Mr.  Kenneth  Clark, 
treasurer  of  the  state  commission,  stating  that  Minneapolis  had 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  state  commission  twenty  'thousand  dol- 
lars, and  would  pay  five  thousand  dollars  a  week,  commencing  this 
week. 

The  treasurer,  Gen.  Bend,  presented  his  report,  showing  cash  re- 
ceipts to  date  twenty  thousand  eight  hundred  and  twenty-nine  dollars 
and  ninety-two  cents;  disbursements,  by  order  of  this  committee, 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-seven  dollars  and  forty-eight 
cents,  leaving  on  hand  eighteen  thousand  nine  hundred  and  ninety- 
two  dollars  and  forty-four  cents. 

Mr.  McCardy  moved  that  the  treasurer  pay  to  the  state  commis- 
sion five  thousand  dollars,  and  also  five  thousand  dollars  next  week, 
and  five  thousand  dollars  the  following  week.  This  motion  was  sec- 
onded. Mr.  Cochran  moved  as  a  substitute  that  the  treasurer  pay  to 
the  state  commission  treasurer  five  thousand  dollars.  The  original 
motion  being  withdrawn,  Mr.  Cochran's  motion  was  carried. 

An  invitation  from  the  Commercial  Club  to  attend  a  meeting  of 


330 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOJIEST  FIRES.  331 

various  bodies  to  devise  if  possible  some  practicable  means  to  cope 
with  the  annual  recurring  forest  fires,  was  presented  and  on  motion 

accepted. 

W.  H.  LIGHTXER,  Secretary. 

Meeting  of  executive  committee  held  September  26th,  1894. 

"Resolved,  That  when  we  adjourn,  that  it  shall  be  to  meet  on  call 
of  the  president  or  secretary."  Resolution  adopted. 

"Resolved,  That  the  treasurer  call  upon  Messrs.  Griggs,  Cooper  & 
Co.  for  the  amount  of  their  subscription,  and  credit  same  with  the 
amount  they  have  delivered  in  provisions." 

''Resolved,  That  Capt.  C.  W[  Hackett  be  requested  to  communicate 
with  his  correspondents  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state,  who  have 
communicated  with  him  in  regard  to  the  cyclone  sufferers,  and  rec- 
ommend them  to  correspond  with  Gov.  Nelson  about  needed  relief, 
and, 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  the  committee  that  the  scope  of 
the  state  commission  may  be  properly  enlarged  to  afford  relief  to 
the  cyclone  sufferers. 

J.  J.  McCARDY,  Secretary  pro  tern. 

Meeting  of  executive  committee  held  October  4th,  1894,  at  Com- 
mercial Club  rooms  at  twelve  o'clock,  at  the  call  of  the  chairman. 

The  secretary  presented  a  bill  from  Griggs,  Cooper  &  Co.  for  one 
hundred  and  sixteen  dollars  and  firty-three  cents  for  groceries  sent 
to  Shell  Lake,  Wisconsin.  Messrs.  Griggs,  Cooper  &  Co.  having 
made  a  subscription  payable  in  groceries,  on  motion  it  was  ordered 
that  the  treasurer  settle  the  same  by  application  of  the  amount  thereof 
upon  the  subscription  of  Griggs,  Cooper  &  Co. 

The  treasurer  presented  his  report  (Exhibit  24),  showing  total 
receipts  to  date  twenty-one  thousand  six  hundred  and  thirtv-nine  dol- 
lars and  seventy-four  cents;  disbursements,  six  thousand  nine  hun- 
dred and  thirty-seven  dollars  and  forty-eight  cents,  leaving  balance 
of  fourteen  thousand  seven  hundred  and  two  dollars  and  twenty-six 
cents. 

On  motion  it  was  resolved  that  the  treasurer  pay  to  the  state 
commission  five  thousand  dollars,  including  therein  credits  for  mon- 
eys which  had  been  disbursed  for  state  sufferers  by  fire. 

W.  H.  LIGHTNER,  Secretary. 

Meeting  of  the  executive  committee  held  October  i6th,  1894,  at  12 
1  m.,  at  the  Commercial  Club  rooms. 


332  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

The  treasurer  presented  his  report  (Exhibit  25),  showing  total  re- 
ceipts to  date  twenty-five  thousand  and  ninety-eight  dollars  and 
twenty-eight  cents;  total  disbursements,  twelve  thousand  and  fifty- 
four  dollars  and  one  cent,  leaving  a  balance  on  hand  of  thirteen 
thousand  and  forty-four  dollars  and  twenty-seven  cents. 

The  treasurer  also  reported  that  he  had  paid  five  thousand  dollars 
to  the  state  commission  in  accordance  with  the  resolution  adopted 
at  the  meeting  of  October  fourth;  that  this  payment  was  all  in  cash 
and  did  not  include  credits  for  moneys  which  had  been  disbursed 
for  state  sufferers  by  fire.  On  motion  the  treasurers  action  was 
ratified. 

On  motion  it  was  resolved  that  the  treasurer  pay  to  the  state  com- 
mission ten  thousand  dollars  addition,  including,  however,  in  such 
ten  thousand  dollars,  credits  for  moneys  which  had  been  disbursed 
for  the  sufferers  by  fire. 

W.  H.  LIGHTXER,  Secretary. 

Meeting  of  the  executive  relief  committe-2  held  October  29th,  1894, 
at  the  Commercial  Club  rooms. 

Mr.  Hackett  offered  the  following  resolution  which  was  adopted: 

''Resolved,  That  Treasurer  Bend  be  authorized  and  directed  to  pay 
over  to  Kenneth  Clark,  of  the  state  commission,  the  sum  of  four 
thousand  dollars. 

The  following  resolution  was  also  adopted: 

"Resolved,  That  the  treasurer,  secretary,  and  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee on  finance,  and  chairman  of  the  committee  on  supplies,  be  re- 
quested to  make  full  and  detailed  statements  of  all  matters  in  their 
respective  departments  at  the  next  meeting  of  this  committee. 

On  motion  meeting  adjourned  to  November  5th,  1894,  at  12 
o'clock  noon,  at  the  Commercial  Club  rooms. 

J.  J.  McCARDY,  Secretary  pro  tern. 

Meeting  of  the  executive  relief  committee  held  November  8th, 
1894.  Present,  Messrs.  Footner,  Hackett,  Benz  and  Lightner. 

Mr.  Benz  reported  that  German  Societies  in  Chicago  were  about 
to  hold  meetings  and  entertainments  for  the  purpose  of  raising  funds. 
On  motion  the  chairman  was  directed  to  send  a  letter  of  thanks  fo? 
this  action. 

On  motion  the  meeting  adjourned. 

W.  H.  LIGHTNER,  Secretary. 

Meeting  of  the  executive  relief  committee  held  November   I2th, 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES,  333 

1894.     Present,  Messrs.  Peet,  Hackett,  McCardy,  Benz  and  Light- 
ner. 

The  chairman  reported  that  he  had  sent  a  letter  to  the  German 
societies,  as-  directed  at  the  last  meeting. 

Mr.  W.  L.  Wilson,  chairman  of  the  committee  on  supplies,  pre- 
sented his  report  in  detail,  which  was  accepted  with  thanks  of  the 
committee  for  his  efficient  management  and  satisfactory  report. 

Gen.  Bend  presented  his  report  as  treasurer,  which  was  on  motion 
accepted;  and  together  with  the  report  he  presented  to  the  committee, 
his  book  showing  in  detail  the  collections  made;  he  also  offered  to 
the  committee  his  checks,  receipts,  etc.,  which  were  declined  with 
thanks. 

On  motion  the  secretary  was  instructed  to  prepare  a  final  report  for 
the  general  committee  of  the  actions  of  this  executive  committee. 

On  motion  the  meeting  adjourned. 

W.  H.  LIGHTNER,  Secretary. 

Report  of  the  executive  committee  appointed  on  September  3rd, 
1894,  by  the  general  committee  for  the  sufferers  by  fires  at  Hinck- 
ley  and  other  points. 

Your  executive  committee  organized  immediately  upon  its  appoint- 
ment, made  its  headquarters  at  the  Commercial  Club  rooms,  the  use 
of  which  were  kindly  tendered  by  that  club,  and  held  daily  meetings 
for  the  transaction  of  business  for  some  weeks  after  their  appoint- 
ment, and  have  met  frequently  since  that  time  until  their  work  was 
completed.  A  record  has  been  kept  of  all  the  formal  actions  of  the 
committee  and  most  of  such  actions  have  been  duly  reported  in  the 
daily  press.  Your  committee  appointed  several  subcommittees,  in- 
cluding a  committee  on  supplies  which  had  charge  of  the  depot  of 
supplies  and  the  distribution  to  the  needy  sufferers.  Also  a  commit- 
tee on  transportation  and  various  other  special  committees  from  time 
to  time.  The  committee  on  finance  has  reported  its  collections  to 
the  treasurer,  Gen.  W.  B.  Bend,  who  has  made  from  time  to  time 
frequent  reports  to  the  executive  committee,  and  has  made  his  final 
report. 

Accompanying  this  report  your  committee  submits  a  very  complete 
and  detailed  report  of  the  committee  on  supplies  prepared  by  the 
chairman,  Mr.  W.  L.  Wilson.  Also  the  treasurer's  report,  which 
shows  that  the  total  amount  received  and  disbursed  is  the  sum  of 
$ ,  the  greater  portion  of  which,  as  appears  from  the  re- 


334 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


\ 


*%v 


KENNETH  CLARK. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  335 

port,  was  paid  to  the  state  commission.  Our  committee  on  transpor- 
tation took  a  very  active  part  in  furnishing-  transportation  for  the 
fire  sufferers  and  acted  mainly  in  connection  with  the  state  com- 
mission, to  which  they  furnished  a  detailed  report.  In  addition  to 
the  cash  received  a  large  amount  of  supplies  were  received,  the  value 
of  which  it  is  impossible  to  state,  but  it  is  variously  estimated  at  from 
five  to  ten  thousand  dollars.  To  the  cash  received  and  disbursed  as 
stated  above  the  amount  of  cash  does  not  include  the  five  thousand 
dollars  contributed  by  Mr.  James  J.  Hill,  of  this  city,  which  was  con- 
tributed directly  to  the  state  commission. 

The  records  of  this  committee  and  the  reports  mentioned  above 
have  been  preserved  in  a  book,  and  by  direction  of  the  executive 
committee  with  the  approval  of  your  body,  these  records  will  be  de- 
posited for  future  reference  with  the  Historical  Society  of  Minnesota. 

Respectfully  submitted  on  behalf  of  the  executive  committee. 

W.  H.  LIGHTNER,  Secretary. 

MINNEAPOLIS  SENDS  RELIEF. 

It  was  noon  of  Sept.  2nd  before  the  mayor  of  the  city  had  a  tele- 
gram that  the  fire  in  Pine  and  adjacent  counties  was  of  so  serious  a 
nature  as  to  call  for  help  from  all  parts  of  the  state.  In  all  the  west 
no  such  telegram  could  have  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  man 
who  would  act  with  more  warm  heartedness  and  enthusiasm;  his 
whole  administration  had  been  marked  by  a  care  for  the  poor,  which 
had  been  taken  note  of  all  throug-h  the  state,  and  far  outside  its 
borders.  Mayor  Eustis'  soup  kitchen,  opened  in  the  winter  to  serve 
the  needy,  had  been  the  subject  of  discussion  in  press,  pulpit,  and 
on  platform.  The  moment  news  was  spread  that  Hinckley-  was  a 
desolation  and  its  people  lay  dead,  he  set  out  to  make  the  facts 
known  and  took  prompt  measures  to  send  help. 

No  train  could  be  sent  direct  from- Minneapolis  nor  was  it  essen- 
tial, as  there  was  one  going  from  St.  Paul.  On  this  Mr.  J.  T.  Man- 
nix  left  to  represent  the  city  and  the  mayor,  who  stayed  here  and 
knowing  that  it  is  lawful  to  do  good  on  Sunday,  he  set  out  to  find 
such  men  as  Geo.  R.  Newell,  Anthony  Kelley  and  other  wholesale 
men  and  told  them  of  his  plan  to  send  a  relief  train  early  in  the  morn- 
ing. Very  late  it  was  that  night  before  the  mayor  had  done  his 
work  and  at  twelve  o'clock  was  going  the  rounds  of  the  newspaper 
offices  to  hear  the  latest  news.  Bright  and  early  on  Monday,  be- 
fore most  men  had  awakened  out  of  sleep,  he  was  out  gathering 


336  MINNESOTA.  FOREST  F1PES. 

together  all  he  could  to  send  to  Pine  City.  Every  one  to  whom 
he  spoke  entered  into  his  zeal  and  at  eight  a.  m.  a  car  load  of 
useful  things — eatable  and  wearable — was  ready  to  be  sent  to  the 
committee  at  Pine  City.  Over  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  line  it  was 
taken.  Mr.  Ryan  sat  on  a  barrel  of  pork,  and  Wm.  Wilkinson  on 
a  box  of  clothes.  At  every  station  on  the  line  the  train  stopped  and 
into  the  cars  were  placed  all  sorts  of  things.  The  people  had  gath- 
ered in  throngs  at  the  stations  all  anxious  to  hear  any  scrap  of  news 
or  see  any  train  going  to  take  help.  Women  in  tears,  children  of 
all  sizes  and  conditions,  men  from  the  woods,  men  from  offices  and 
mills,  and  farms,  each  and  all  intent  on  knowing  what  was  being 
done;  many  on  sending  help.  As  the  train  passed  White  Bear  men 
said  "Good  luck!  Send  back  all  the  news  you  can.  How  many 
are  dead?  When  do  you  expect  to  come  back?  Will  you  take 
us  along?"  and  the  like.  At  Stacey  there  was  a  large  supply  of 
goods  on  the  platform  ready  to  be  sent;  and  at  North  Branch  yet 
more;  it  looked  as  if  the  whole  county  was  intent  on  helping.  Here 
Rev.  Mr.  Fostroke  joined  the  train,  which  reached  Pine  City  in 
due  course.  All  the  business  men  in  Minneapolis  that  day,  Mon- 
day, knew  what  had  happened  and  that  they  would  have  an  op- 
portunity of  helping.  The  papers  told  the  details  as  far  as  known. 
The  Tribune  and  The  Times  are  published  in  the  morning.  The 
Journal  and  Penny  Press  are  evening  papers.  All  had  special  edi- 
tions, which  had  very  large  sales.  The  public  interest  was  very 
great  indeed  and  soon  all  was  arranged  to  have  the  help  given  con- 
ducted in  a  systematic  way.  The  names  of  the  citizens'  committee 
shows  that  the  men  who  were  upon  it  represent  all  that  is  best  in 
the  city. 

It  was  decided  to  divide  the  work  and  classify  it.  This  was  done, 
so  the  lumbermen,  the  bankers,  the  dry  goods  men  and  so  on  were 
seen  as  classes,  or  rather  as  individuals  in  those  classes.  Nothing 
was  left  to  chance.  The  finance  commrttee  knew  what  it  wanted 
to  do  and  how  to  do  it.  This  committee  sat  daily  and  gave  to  every 
detail  of  its  work  a  wise  and  thorough  oversight.  Every  member 
of  it  deserves  the  gratitude  of  the  fire  sufferers  and  all  in  this  state 
who  honor  men  who  do  good  work  for  the  children  of  sorrow.  Mr. 
Harvey  W.  Brown,  president  of  the  Gas  Light  Co.,  a  man  who  is 
known  well  for  his  generous  deeds  and  interest  in  the  needy,  su- 
perintended much  of  the  work  of  collection,  especially  that  in  of- 
fices. He  sent  out  two  gentlemen  engaged  in  their  offices— Geo. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES  337 

N.  DeMill  and  Lawrence  S.  Shuler,  Jr.  All  the  committees  did 
well  and  the  general  committee  never  slackened  its  efforts  till  the 
work  was  ended.  The  churches  led  by  their  pastors,  the  musicians, 
the  theater  proprietors,  men  in  work  shops,  and  the  young  ladies 
employed  in  stores  each  and  all  assisted.  The  hospitals  took  care 
of  the  burned  and  public  bodies  as  the  Odd  Fellows,  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  the  Masons  all  joined  the  army  of  helpers  and  all  deserve 
credit  alike.  It  is  certain  that  Minneapolis  is  never  behind  in  its 
readiness  to  give  to  any  worthy  cause  in  the  state.  This  is  its 
pleasure  and  duty.  The  reports  show  in  detail  much  that  was  done. 

FIRST  RELIEF  TRAIN. 

It  was  Sunday,  September  second,  a  bright  and  pleasant  day — 
one  of  those  delightful  days  in  early  autumn  which  are  peculiar  to 
the  Northwest — when  the  hearts  of  Minneapolitans  were  saddened 
by  the  startling  information  that  forest  fires  had  destroyed  several 
peaceful  communities  and  killed  hundreds  of  human  beings.  The 
wires  were  in  such  bad  shape  during  the  night  that  only  very  meager 
reports  of  the  holocaust  were  presented  in  the  papers  the  morning 
after  the  visitation.  The  newspapers  published  fragmentary  state- 
ments and  in  the  absence  of  very  definite  and  positive  accounts 
the  people  naturally  believed  the  story  to  be  exaggerated,  so  far 
as  the  tremendous  loss  of  life  was  concerned.  The  community, 
with  its  ever  quickened  impulses  for  well  doing,  was  in  a  fever  heat 
of  excitement,  extremely  desirous  of  learning  the  exact  facts  in  the 
case. 

Mayor  W.  H.  Eustis,  acting  with  that  promptness  which  is  one 
of  the  marked  characteristics  of  the  man,  made  every  effort  to  as- 
certain, and  at  an  early  hour,  the  true  situation  of  affairs.  In  re- 
sponse to  his  telegrams  there  came  to  the  city  hall  the  most  dis- 
tressing information,  that  at  least  three  hundred  lives  were  lost. 
His  honor,  appreciating  that  the  homeless  would  require  immediate 
succor,  quickly  conferred  writh  some  of  the  flour  millers  and  other 
prominent  citizens,  and  all  were  of  course  ready  and  anxious  to  do 
even-thing  to  relieve  the  unfortunate  people  as  far  as  human  agen- 
cies could  relieve,  under  such  terrible  conditions.  It  was  the  am- 
bition of  Mayor  Eustis  to  have  the  city  of  which  he  was  the  execu- 
tive represented  among  the  very  first  contributions  shipped  to  the 
grief  stricken  communities.  But  it  was  impossible  under  the  de- 
moralized conditions  which  existed  with  the  railroads  running  into 
the  fire  district  to  get  transportaton  facilities  that  clay. 


338  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

Mayor  Eustis,  appreciating  the  necessity  of  having  full  particu- 
lars of  the  horror,  at  once  sent  his  private  secretary,  J.  T.  Mannix, 
to  the  fire  section.  Mr.  Mannix  was  fortunate  in  reaching  St. 
Paul  in  time  to  take  a  special  train  which  had  been  made  up  by  the  St. 
Paul  and  Duluth  railroad  people.  This  train  bore  a  number  of  news- 
paper reporters,  a  squad  of  militia  men,  Secretary  Richardson,  rep- 
resenting the  governor,  Secretary  H.  H.  Hart,  P.  H.  Kelly  and 
other  gentlemen,  all  alive  to  the  horror  of  the  disaster,  and  anxious 
to  reach  the  stricken  communities  at  the  earliest  possible  moment, 
that  they  might  care  for  the  injured,  feed  the  hungry  and  console, 
if  possible,  the  hundreds  of  bereaved  ones.  The  train  also  bore  a 
considerable  quantity  of  groceries,  the  liberal  contribution  of  the 
Kelly  Mercantile  Company. 

At  all  the  stations  along  the  line  there  were  people  who  were  de- 
lighted beyond  the  power  of  human  beings  to  express,  when  they 
saw  that  swift  going  relief  train.  At  a  number  of  points,  particu- 
larly White  Bear,  the  thoughtful  people  had  hurriedly  gathered 
food  and  clothing,  and  these  were  added  to  the  stock  taken  from 
St.  Paul.  Rev.  Father  Burke  joined  the  relief  party  at  White  Bear. 
He  was  a  welcome  and  very  valuable  worker  in  the  fire  section. 

It  \vas  nearly  evening  when  the  relief  train  reached  Pine  City. 
The  people  of  that  hospitable  community  had  anticipated  the  relief 
train,  and  the  local  committee  and  other  prominent  citizens  \vere 
on  hand  to  communicate  the  sad  facts  in  the  case.  It  was  a  time 
when  work  had  to  be  done,  and  done  with  the  greatest  possible 
expedition.  The  local  committee,  with  Thomas  Hurley  as  chair- 
man, met  with  those  on  the  relief  train,  who  had  come  up  to  assist 
in  the  great  relief  work.  The  meeting  was  held  in  one  of  the 
passenger  coaches.  After  an  hour's  discussion  of  the  situation,  the 
local  committee  was  strengthened  by  making  Secretary.  Hart,  of 
St.  Paul,  Judge  Nethaway,  of  Stillwater,  Daniel  Moon,  of  Duluth 
and  J.  T.  Mannix,  of  Minneapolis,  members.  An  hour  later  this 
enlarged  committee  met  in  one  of  the  halls  of  the  city  and  proceeded 
at  once  with  the  great  work,  which  for  two  weeks  was  conducted 
in  a  manner  that  elicited  much  praise.  Mr.  Hurley  was  very  prop- 
erly continued  in  the  chairmanship.  The  general  committee  was 
divided  into  sub-committees  on  burial  of  dead,  commissary,  trans- 
portation, etc.  The  committee  met  every  morning  at  nine  o'clock, 
and  the  work  was  done  with  the  greatest  possible  system  consist- 
ent with  such  demoralized  conditions  as  existed  at  the  time. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  339 

When  the  relief  train  reached  Pine  City  and  the  extent  of  the 
calamity  became  known,  the  bare  facts  were  telegraphed  Mayor  Eus- 
tis.  The  immediate  needs  of  the  afflicted  section  were  indicated, 
and  some  suggestions  in  regard  to  clothing,  etc.,  were  made.  The 
next  morning  there  came  to  Pine  City  a  car  load  of  groceries, 
bedding,  general  clothing,  etc.,  the  first  installment  of  Minneapolis' 
noble  contribution.  The  committee  quickly  disposed  of  these  goods, 
and  then  telegraphed  the  good  people  of  the  Twin  Cities  just  what 
was  needed. 

This  is  but  a  general  statement  of  the  first  relief  work.  The  gen- 
eral local  committee,  as  the  Pine  City  committee  was  called,  got 
things  in  good  shape  for  the  State  Reliel  Commission,  which  suc- 
ceeded to  the  great  and  humane  w7ork.  The  splendid  work  of  the 
local  committee,  and  particularly  of  the  Pine  City  members  of  that 
committee,  is  certainly  deserving  of  every  praise.  Amid  the  horror 
;aid  gloom  of  that  most  terrible  visitation,  the  members  of  that  com- 
mittee worked  manfully  and  incessantly  and  brought  something  like 
order  out  of  the  chaos  and  confusion  that  prevailed  in  the  fire 
district 

MINNEAPOLIS  RELIEF  COMMITTEE. 

First  meeting  of  the  Citizens'  Relief  Committee,  held  Monday, 
September  3rd,  1894,  at  Commercial  Club  Rooms. 

Meeting  called  to  order  by  Mayor  W.  H.  Er.stis,  who  stated  why 
the  meeting  was  called.  On  motion  by  the  mayor  Mr.  C.  A.  Pills- 
bury  was  called  to  the  chair.  The  chairman  stated  that  the  first 
business  would  be  the  election  of  a  secretary,  and  on  motion  adopted, 
Mr.  W.  H.  Rendell  was  chosen. 

Mr.  Pillsbury  made  a  few  remarks  on  the  importance  of  imme- 
diate action  and  called  on  those  present  for  their  opinions  as  to 
the  best  method  of  proceedure.  After  considerable  discussion  Mr. 
P.  B.  Winston  offered  the  following  resolution: 

Whereas,  Terrible  and  destructive  forest  fires  have  visited  the 
Northern  part  of  our  state  causing  great  loss  of  life,  and  render- 
ing homeless  hundreds  of  our  fellow  citizens, 

Resolved,  That  the  chairman  of  this  meeting  is  authorized  to  ap- 
point a  committee  of  twenty-one,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  im- 
mediate relief  for  the  sufferers,  and  that  the  committee  is  empow- 
ered to  increase  this  committee  and  to  appoint  other  committees 
with  full  power  to  act; 

Resolved,  Further,  that  the  Mayor  of  this  city  is  requested  to  call 


340 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


• 


MAYOR  W.  H.  EUSTIS. 


MINNESOTA   FOREST  FIRES.  341 

a  special  meeting  of  the  city  council  tonight,  to  take  such  action  as 
is  in  their  power  for  the  relief  of  the  fire  sufferers. 

The  chairman  appointed  as  this  committee  C.  A.  Pillsbury,  chair- 
man; P.  B.  Winston,  W.  H.  Eustis,  Rev.  Dr.  Hoyt,  Geo.  W.  Mar- 
chant,  O.  B.  Clark,  C.  M.  Loring,  W.  H.  Rendell,  J  H  Sullivan, 
Senator  Washburn,  Geo.  R.  Newell,  W.  J.  Dean,  Dr.  Higbee,  Sen- 
ator F.  F.  McMillan,  R.  B.  Squires,  Geo.  A.  Brackett,  A.  C.  Haugan, 
Rev.  J.  M.  Cleary,  W.  H.  Warrington,  J.  C.  Haynes,  and  B.  F. 
Nelson. 

Mr.  O.  B.  Clark,  agent  Adams'  Express  Co.,  offered  to  carry 
free  anything  for  the  relief  of  the  fire  sufferers.  His  offer  was  ac- 
cepted. Mr.  Theo.  Hayes  offered  to  give  a  benefit  at  the  Bijou 
Theater,  Saturday  evening.  On  motion  adopted  the  offer  was  ac- 
cepted. 

Misses  Salisbury  and  Satterlee  to  give  two  cots;  offer  accepted. 

Mr.  O.  B.  Clark  was  apointed  to  secure  special  train  to  start  for 
the  scene  of  the  fire  as  soon  as  possible. 

A  motion  by  Mr.  R.  J.  Anderson,  that  a  committee  consisting  of 
Eugene  Hay,  Rev.  Dr.  Hoyt,  R.  J.  Anderson  and  Senator  Wash- 
burn  to  draw  up  a  memorial  to  be  sent  to  Engineer  J.  M.  Root 
for  his  bravery  in  saving  so  many  lives,  was  adopted.  Meeting  ad- 
journed W.  H.  RENDELL. 
FIRST  MEETING  OF  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE. 

Meeting  was  called  to  order  by  Chairman  C.  A.  Pillsbury. 

On  motion  adopted.  J.  H.  Sullivan  was  elected  secretary  and 
P.  B.  Winston  treasurer. 

On  motion  by  Senator  Washburn,  F.  G.  Winston,  W.  J.  Dean, 
Xelson  Williams,  J.  T.  Wyman  and  H.  W.  Brown  were  appointed 
committee  on  finance;  and  P.  B.  Winston,  C.  M.  Loring,  A.  E. 
Higbee,  Rev.  Dr.  Hoyt  and  Geo.  W.  Marchant,  committee  to  start 
for  the  scene  of  the  fire  at  once  and  report  to  the  meeting  on  Tues- 
day at  three  o'clock  p.  m.  Dr.  Higbee  was  empowered  to  pur- 
chase anything  necessary  for  immediate  use. 

A  motion  by  Mr.  Pillsbury  was  adopted  to  send  out  an  appeal 
through  the  papers  to  associations  and  churches  next  Sunday,  to 
raise  subscriptions  as  soon  as  possible  for  the  fire  sufferers,  for 
which  work  Dr.  Hoyt  and  Mayor  Eustis  were  appointed. 

Mr.  Dean  made  a  motion  which  carried,  that  a  sub-executive 
committee  be  appointed,  composed  of  Messrs.  C.  A.  Pillsbury,  Mayor 
Eustis,  Geo.  R.  Xewell,  P.  B.  Winston  and  H.  W.  Brown. 


342  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

Report  of  adjourned  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  of 
the  Citizens'  Relief  Association  held  at  the  rooms  of  the  Jobbers' 
&  Manufacturers'  Association  September  fourth,  1894,  3  o'clock  p.  m. 

The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  Chairman  Pillsbury,  who 
stated  that  its  purpose  was  to  hear  the  report  of  the  committee  of 
visitation  and  inquiry,  and  to  decide  on  what  action  to  take  for  the 
permanent  needs  of  the  fire  sufferers.  Rev.  Wayland  Hoyt  read 
the  report,  which  was  accepted.  Air.  F.  G.  Winston  reported  for 
the  finance  committee  that  the  chairman  was  meeting  with  much 
success  and  was  well  received  everywhere.  Mayor  Eustis  stated 
that  Gov.  Nelson  had  issued  a  proclamation,  asking  the  different 
towns  and  cities  to  aid  the  sufferers,  and  had  appointed  an  execu- 
tive committee  consisting  of  C.  A.  Pillsbury  of  Minneapolis,  Ken- 
neth Clark,  of  St.  Paul,  Mr.  Graves,  of  Duluth,  Mr.  Norton,  of  Wi- 
nona,  and  Mr.  Hart  of  the  state  board  of  Correction  and  Charities, 
to  look  after  the  needs  of  the  fire  sufferers.  Mayor  Lewis,  of  Du- 
luth, who  was  present,  made  a  few  remarks  on  the  condition  of 
things  on  the  Duluth  side  of  the  fire.  Mr.  W.  C.  Gregy,  who  had 
just  returned  from  Milaca,  stated  that  about  30  families  had  been 
completely  burned  out  at  that  place  and  had  lost  everything.  On 
motion  adopted,  Mr.  F.  B.  Nelson,  Geo.  R.  Newell  and  J.  H.  Sulli- 
van were  appointed  auditing  committee  to  audit  all  bills  before  the 
same  we're  paid.  On  motion  by  Mr.  Pillsbury,  Mr.  H.  W.  Brown 
was  elected  vice  president.  A  gentleman  from  the  Musicians'  As- 
sociation was  present  and  stated  that  they  would  like  to  give  a  secred 
concert  at  the  Exposition  building,  Sunday  afternoon,  and  turn  into 
the  treasury  the  receipts.  On  motion  adopted  the  meeting  ad- 
journed. J.  H.  SULLIVAN,  Secretary. 

To  Citizens'  Relief  Committee:  Gentlemen: — Acting  under  the 
instructions  of  the  committee,  and  asking  Doctors  Norton  and  Mc- 
Donald to  assist  in  the  work,  I  visited  Pine  City  to  look  after  the 
wounded  and  sick  there,  who  were  victims  of  the  fire.  At  the  depot 
we  were  joined  by  Doctors  J.  T.  Moore  and  S.  S.  Kilvington  and 
Mulberg,  of  Minneapolis,  Foster,  of  St.  Paul,  Perkins,  of  Excelsior, 
and  Mitchell,  of  Shakopee.  Upon  arriving  at  Pine  City  we  found 
the  'seriously  burned  gathered  together  in  an  old  warehouse,  and 
sadly  in  need  of  medical  attendance.  This  was  given  as  rapidly  as 
possible  and  as  efficiently  as  the  surroundings  would  allow.  All 
the  medical  men  joined  in  the  opinion  that  it  was  impossible  to 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  343 

give  the  injured  the  care  required,  as  they  were  situated,  and  in 
consultation  with  Mr.  C.  M.  Loring  and  the  committee  from  Minne- 
apolis, acting  with  the  local  committee,  it  was  decided  to  remove 
the  most  seriously  injured  to  this  city,  and  place  them  in  the  hospi- 
tals here.  Accordingly  at  noon  Tuesday,  the  4th  day  of  September, 
ten  adults  by  train  offered  us  by  Superintendent  Miller  of  the  St. 
Paul  and  Duluth  Railroad  were  brought  to  this  city  and  sent  to  the 
following  hospitals : 

At  Asbury,  Mrs.  Otto  Olson,  aged  35  years  (lost  husband  and 
three  children),  burned  on  head  and  face,  respiratory  organs  injured 
by  inhaling  hot  air  and  smoke,  will  recover.  Mr.  Nels  Friske,  age 
42  years,  right  eye  bruised  and  burned,  both  hands  and  wrists  burned, 
and  lungs  inflamed;  will  recover.  At  Northwestern  Hospital,  Mrs. 
May  Olson,  31  years  of  age,  burned  on  face  and  head,  respir- 
ator}- organs  injured.  Ella  Olson,  2  years  old;  not  burned.  Gurt 
Olson,  4  years  old;  burned  on  face.  These  are  children  of  Mrs. 
Olson.  Mrs.  Olson  will  recover.  Mrs.  Agusta  Will,  age  31 
years;  burned  on  face  and  hands,  inflammation  of  lungs  caused 
by  smoke  and  hot  air;  will  recover.  Mrs.  Hilda  Benton,  age  18 
years,  daughter  of  Mrs.  Will.  These  two  women  report  no  friends 
and  no  place  of  shelter.  Dr.  Norton  carefully  investigated  the  case 
of  Mrs.  Benton  and  reports  her  worthy  of  aid.  At  Homeopathic 
Hospital,  Mr.  M.  E.  Greenfield,  age  50  years;  eyes  very  badly  burned, 
had  pneumonia,  will  recover.  Mrs.  M.  E.  Greenfield,  age  27  years, 
terribly  burned  on  chest,  abdomen,  back,  arms  and  legs;  recovery 
very  doubtful,  or  if  she  does  will  be  a  matter  of  months.  Chas. 
Greenfield,  son  of  M.  E.  Greenfield,  age  10  years,  only  slight  burns. 
Mrs.  and  Mr.  Greenfield  lost  five  children  and  everything  they  pos- 
sessed, did  not  have  an  article  of  clothing.  They  are  reported  very 
worthy;  the  boy  was  brought  with  his  parents.  Betty  Westerland, 
age  35  years,  face  badly  burned,  pneumonia  and  prostration;  was  in 
water  eight  hours;  worthy  and  will  recover.  At  St.  Mary's  Hospital, 
Emma  Hammond,  age  48  years,  burned  on  nearly  every  portion  of 
her  body;  recovery  very  doubtful.  Do  not  think  this  case  demands 
the  charity  of  the  committee  only  so  far  as  medical  attendance  is  re- 
quired. John  Larson,  age  36,  burned  on  hands,  face  and  slightly  on 
body;  worthy  and  will  recover. 

These  hospital  cases  require  much  care  and  attention;  some  of 
them  a  great  deal  of  care  and  expensive  dressings,  and  I  would 
strongly  recommend  that  the  hospitals  caring  for  them  be  allowed 


344  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

a  dollar  a  day  for  each  adult;  this  to  cover  all  charges  of  every  kind. 

ALBERT  E.  HIGBEE,  M.  D. 

To  THE  GENERAL  RELIEF  COMMITTEE  OF  THE  CITIZENS'  RELIEF  ASSOCIATION: 

Your  committee  of  visitation  and  inquiry  started  for  the  scene  of 
suffering  and  of  help  yesterday  afternoon.  While  waiting  change  of 
train  at  White  Bear,  they  organized.  Hon.  C.  M.  Loring  was  made 
president  and  Air.  George  N.  Marchant  secretary.  By  resolution  of 
the  committee,  Dr.  Higbee  was  made  general  medical  director. 

Dr.  Higbee  had  requested  Doctors  Norton  and  Macdonald  to  ac- 
company him;  and  at  the  suggestion  of  his  honor,  the  mayor,  and 
by  glad  volunteering,  these  additional  physicians,  Doctors  Moore 
Nippert,  Kilvington,  Muldberg  and  Fitzgerald,  of  Minneapolis,  and 
Dr.  Mitchell,  of  Shakopee,  and  Dr.  Perkins,  of  Excelsior,  were  ac- 
companying; and  at  once  at  the  suggestion  of  your  committee  most 
cheerfully  put  themselves  under  the  general  direction  of  Dr.  Higbee, 
that  all  medical  ministry  might  be  speedily  apportioned  and  accom- 
plished. 

Mr.  Sapendtier,  of  Minneapolis,  was  also  requested  to  act  as 
druggist. 

The  other  members  of  your  committee  held  themselves  ready  to  do 
whatever  service  might  be  set  for  them;  especially  were  they  to 
gather  all  possible  facts  as  to  the  general  condition  of  affairs,  that 
they  might  present  to  you  the  direct  and  most  accurate  account  just 
then  obtainable. 

On  arriving  at  Pine  City,  part  of  the  committee  stopped  there,  that 
point  being,  for  our  side  of  the  fire,  the  base  of  operations,  and  the 
place  to  which  most  of  the  injured  on  our  side  have  been  and  are  be- 
ing carried;  and  is  also  the  place  where,  from  our  side,  most  of  the 
burned-out  people  have  been  and  are  gathering.  Mr.  O.  P.  Clark 
and  Dr.  Kilvington  went  out  at  once  to  Hinckley,  to  see  if  any  serv- 
vice  of  any  sort  could  be  rendered  by  your  committee  there.  On 
their  return  they  reported  that  nothing  whatever  could  be  done  at 
Hinckley,  that  everything  that  could  be  done  was  either  already  ac- 
complished, or  was  being  done  by  most  efficient  hands  at  that 
place. 

Meanwhile  the  members  of  our  committee  at  Pine  City  set  them- 
selves to  work  there.  The  medical  stores  were  unloaded,  taken  to 
the  rink,  which  serves  as  a  hospital  at  that  point,  and  the  physicians 
at  once  applied  themselves  to  the  dressing  of  the  burns  and  wounds 
of  the  injured,  and  making  them  as  comfortable  as  possible.  The 


MINNESOTA.  FOREST  FIRES.  345 

other  members  sought  at  once  to  gain  as  clear  an  undertaking  as 
they  could  of  the  condition  of  affairs. 

It  may  be  as  well  stated  here  as  anywhere,  that  one  member  of  the 
committee,  Mr.  Marchant,  remained  upon  the  ground  to  visit  more 
thoroughly  the  burned  district,  and  to  discover  additional  facts,  and 
to  present  to  you  a  supplemental  report,  should  such  report  be  found 
necessary. 

The  town  of  Hinckley,  numbering  alone  one  thousand  inhabitants 
— some  say  fifteen  hundred  or  even  more;  Sandstone,  numbering 
about  three  hundred;  Mission  Creek,  about  one  hundred;  Brook 
Park  (or  Pokegama),  about  one  hundred,  and  Partridge,  about  one 
hundred,  have  been  devastated,  and  all,  save  Partridge,  totally  de- 
stroyed by  the  fire.  This  makes,  in  round  numbers,  about  two  thou- 
sand people  who  have  been  burned  out.  From  this  two  thousand 
about  four  hundred — it  may  be  more,  it  may  be  less — are  to  be  de- 
ducted, who  are  dead.  Thus  sixteen  hundred  people  are  left  desti- 
tute. From  this  is  to  be  deducted  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  oper- 
atives, who  will  probably  never  return,  but  drift  variously  away.  This 
leaves  about  fourteen  hundred  and  fifty  people  who  will  need  care, 
food,  clothing  and  various  assistance. 

The  fire  was  so  terrific  and  so  awfully  swift  in  its  destructive 
energy,  that  there  are,  considering  the  number  of  dead,  comparatively 
few  injured  people.  In  the  hospital  at  Pine  City,  nine  were  lying 
severely,  and  some  dangerously  burned.  There  was  also  quite  a 
large  number  of  persons,  whose  burns  having  been  dressed  by  the 
physicians,  have  gone  from  their  care,  exactly  how  many,  it  is  as  yet 
impossible  to  find  out.  It  is  estimated  that  at  least  ninety-five  per 
cent,  of  the  burned-out  are  nearly  or  entirely  destitute.  As  nearly 
as  can  be  estimated,  about  eight  or  nine  hundred  destitute  people 
have  been  and  will  be  dependent  upon  the  depot  of  supplies  and  sev- 
ice  at  Pine  City.  Some  of  these  are  single  men  and  operatives,  who 
will  have  to  be  fed  for  a  time,  supplied  with  clothing,  and  given  trans- 
portation to  some  other  points.  There  are  no  sufferers  now  known 
to  be  at  any  of  the  places  struck  by  the  fire.  All  have  been  removed 
to  Pine  City,  to  Superior  or  to  Dulutli. 

It  is  possible  that  the  searching  parties,  who  today  are  scouring 
thoroughly  the  entire  neighborhood  of  the  places  smitten  by  the 
fire,  may  discover  other  sufferers  not  dead,  but  injured.  It  is  prob- 
able that  other  dead  bodies  will  be  thus  discovered.  We  find  the 
organization  at  Pine  City  well  in  hand,  and  most  efficiently  working. 


346 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  347 

Indeed,  too  much  praise  cannot  be  bestowed  upon  the  way  in  which 
the  organization  at  Pine  City  has  grasped  this  great  calamity,  to 
manage  it,  to  help  and  soothe  the  sufferers.  This  organization  is  as 
follows:  There  is  a  general  relief  committee  composed  of  citizens 
of  Pine  City,  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul,  and  Stillwater.  Under  this  gen- 
eral committee  are,  thoroughly  equipped  and  in  complete  order,  the 
following  subcommittees : 

First.  An  executive  committee  composed  of  Air.  James  Hurley, 
a  prominent  merchant;  Air.  Hodge,  county  auditor,  and  Air.  Breck- 
inridge,  the  secretary  of  this  committee,  all  of  Pine  City. 

Second.  A  committee  on  registration,  of  which  Mr.  H.  H.  Hart, 
the  president  of  corrections  and  charities  of  the  state,  is  the  efficient 
chairman.  Hr.  Hart  has  had  cards  printed  on  which,  filling  out  the 
approximate  blanks,  is  accurately  registered,  everything  about  each 
applicant,  and  thus  fraudulent  applications  are  abundantly  guarded 
against 

Third.  A  committee  on  burials  composed  of  Air.  J.  G.  Lonnely 
of  St.  Paul,  Air.  H.  I.  Davis  of  Hinckley,  Alessrs.  A.  G.  Perkins,  John 
W.  Hunt,  and  Frank  Webber  of  Pine  City.  This  committee  is  care- 
fully and  swiftly  attending  to  the  burial  of  the  dead,  and  have  already 
nearly  completed  their  sad  task. 

Fourth.  A  commissary  committee  of  which  Air.  F.  A.  Hodge  of 
Pine  City  is  chairman.  This  commissary  committee  is  feeding  the 
persons  to  whom  meal  tickets  are  issued  by  the  registration  com- 
mittee, drawing  its  supplies  on  requisition  from  the  warehouse  of 
supplies — a  church,  the  use  of  which  was  tendered  for  the  purpose. 
In  this  warehouse  all  supplies  which  have  as  yet  been  sent,  have 
been  deposited,  and  accurate  account  is  taken  and  kept  of  them. 

Fifth.  A  committee  on  care  of  the  sick,  in  whose  charge  is  the 
hospital. 

Sixth.  A  financial  committee,  of  which  Air.  Albert  Pennington, 
a  well  known  merchant  of  Pine  City,  is  chairman.  This  committee 
consists  of  five,  including  Air.  Alannix,  as  representing  Alinneapolis, 
and  Air.  Dan  H.  Aloore,  as  representing  St.  Paul.  The  duty  of  this 
committee  is  to  audit  all  bills  and  to  order  the  payment  of  the  same 
by  the  treasurer. 

Seventh.  A  general  treasurer,  Air.  Fred  Hodge,  a  gentleman  of 
wealth  and  position  in  Pine  City.  To  Air.  Hodge  all  money  con- 
tributions should  be  sent.  It  is  to  be  said  that  his  appointment  to 
this  position  may,  and  probably  will,  cause  his  withdrawal  from  serv- 


348  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. f 

ice  on  other  committees.  On  the  whole,  and  considering  the  extent 
and  suddenness  of  the  calamity,  the  organization  set  up  at  Pine  City 
is  marvelously  strong,  accurate  and  in  splendid  running  order. 

Eighty  tents  have  been  supplied  by  the  state  for  the  use  of  the 
burned-out  families  and  single  persons.  Fifty  of  them  are  pitched 
at  Pine  City,  and  twenty  at  Hinckley,  for  the  shelter  of  those  engaged 
in  burying  the  dead.  Ten  we  held  in  reserve  to  be  pitched  where 
and  when  they  may  be  needed.  These  tents  we  find  abundantly 
supplied  with  cots,  bedding,  blankets,  etc.  There  is  immediately 
needed,  however,  a  lot  of  lumber  for  flooring  to  the  tents.  We  also 
find  that  Gen.  Merrit  has  sent  fifty  regulars  from  Fort  Snelling  to  do 
any  service  which  may  be  needful,  and  also  a  hospital  steward  with 
hospital  supplies.  At  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Higbee  and  other  physi- 
cians, your  committee  telegraphed  His  Honor,  Mayor  Eustis,  to 
send  for  hospital  service  in  Pine  City  three  trained  women  nurses. 
These  nurses,  together  with  Dr.  Martha  Ripley,  left  for  Pine  City  on 
the  10:10  train  last  night.  After  the  telegram  was  sent  and  after 
Dr.  Ripley  and  the  nurses  had  started,  it  was  thought  on  further  ex- 
amination of  Dr.  Higbee  and  other  physicians,  that  since  some  eight 
or  possibly  nine  of  the  sufferers  were  so  badly  burned  as  to  need  long 
and  constant  attention,  and  since,  in  order  to  recover,  they  could 
be  vastly  better  cared  for  should  they  be  taken  from  the  extempor- 
ized hospital  at  Pine  City  to  the  permanent  and  thoroughly  furnished 
hospitals  of  Minneapolis,  therefore  they  suggested  that  these  sufferers 
be  removed  to  Minneapolis.  Your  committee  sanctioned  such  re- 
moval. Dr.  Ripley  and  the  nurses  were  of  great  value  last  night 
in  relieving  wearied  attendants  upon  the  sufferers,  and  will  be  of 
indispensable  service  today,  as  these  sufferers  are  transported  to  their 
destination. 

It  was  found  that,  for  the  present,  there  are  abundant  supplies  of 
every  sort  at  Pine  City.  In  view  of  all  the  above,  the  following 
suggestions  seem  wise: 

First  That  no  further  supplies  of  perishable  sort  be  sent,  at  least 
until  there  should  be  direct  call  for  them  by  the  committees  at  Pine 
City. 

Second.  That  in  all  our  future  endeavors  we  co-operate  with  the 
efficient  organization  already  working  at  Pine  City. 

Third.  That  whatever  money  and  supplies  may  be  contributed 
hereafter  by  Minneapolis,  be  not  immediately  sent  to  Pine  City  or 
elsewhere,  but  be  held  by  the  proper  persons  here  in  treasury  depot, 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  349 

to  be  sent  as  the  committee  in  Pine  City  may  make  requisition  for 
them. 

Fourth.  That  inasmuch  as  the  surviving  sufferers,  both  injured 
and  uninjured,  have  lost  in  almost  every  case,  their  entire  clothing, 
stores,  bedding,  etc.,  the  citizens  of  Minneapolis  be  asked  to  con- 
tribute such  articles,  which  shall  be  sent  for  depot  to  Mr.  Holt,  of 
the  Associated  Charities  of  Minneapolis,  who  shall  be  requested  to 
sort,  and,  if  need  be,  repair  them;  and  that  the  committee  at  Pine 
City  draw  on  Mr.  Holt  for  such  articles.  Here  everything  in  the 
shape  of  clothing  will  be  of  use,  underwear,  outerwear,  stockings, 
shoes,  etc.,  for  men,  women  and  children ;  also  bedding  of  every  sort. 
It  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  season  for  summer  wear  has  nearly 
passed,  and  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Marchant,  whose  efficient  service 
in  the  helping  of  the  St.  Cloud  sufferers  has  made  his  experience  so 
valuable  in  the  present  case,  we  think  it  a  good  idea  for  the  good 
people  of  Minneapolis  to  mingle  with  their  gifts  of  clothing,  some 
dolls  and  toys  for  the  burned-out  children.  Such  gifts  will  help  the 
children  and  the  wearied  mothers  also. 

Fifth.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  burned-out  sufferers  have 
lost  everything  in  the  shape  of  stores,  kitchen  utensils  and  house  fur- 
nishings of  all  kinds;  consequently  such  things  as  these  will  be 
greatly  needed,  and  %  we  would  suggest  the  appointment  of  a  special 
committee,  who  shall  make  depot  for  such  articles  and  have  charge 
of  them,  and  keep  themselves  informed  as  to  special  need  for  these 
things,  in  correspondence  with  the  secretary  of  the  general  relief  com- 
mittee of  Pine  City,  Mr.  J.  G.  Loring  of  Pine  City. 

Sixth.  That  all  the  churches  and  other  organizations  in  Min- 
neapolis be  asked  to  make  offerings  for  the  sufferers  next  Sunday, 
or  as  near  that  date  as  possible.  That  these  offerings  be  all  sent 
to  Mr.  F.  G.  Winston,  the  treasurer  of  the  general  committee  of  Min- 
neapolis, to  be  disbursed  by  him  at  the  call  of  the  committees  in 
Pine  City.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that  a  very  large  proportion  of 
the  sufferers  have  lost  everything;  that  they  need  to  be  assisted  to 
get  upon  their  feet  again,  and  that  it  is  essentially  necessary  tbat  there 
be  in  Minneapolis  a  sum  of  money  in  hand,  which  can  be  drawn 
upon  as  the  committees  in  Pine  City  shall  investigate  each  case,  and 
indicate  the  amount  of  money  to  be  disbursed  for  the  same.  It 
should  be  and  is,  most  gladly  said  by  your  eommittee,  that  we  found 
the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  Railroad  Company  as  accommodating  as  pos- 
sible. Xo  least  suggestion  or  request  was  made  by  us  which  was. 


350 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  351 

not   instantly   seconded   and   met  by  the   railroad   officials   at   the 
earliest  minute  possible. 

CITIZENS'  BELIEF  ASSOCIATION. 

Called  to  order  by  Chairman  C.  A.  Pillsbury  at  3:30  o'clock  p.  m. 
Mr.  Pillsbury  stated  that  he  was  going  away  soon  and  if  it  were 
the  desire  of  the  other  members,  it  would  be  wrell  to  close  up  matters, 
and  it  was  so  ordered. 

The  bills  from  the  Northwestern,  St.  Mary's,  and  Homeopathic 
hospitals  were  allowed  and  ordered  paid. 

On  motion  by  Mr.  O.  B.  Clark,  that  the  funds  in  the  hands  of  the 
treasurer  be  turned  over  to  the  state  commission,  it  was  so  ordered. 

It  was  the  sense  of  the  meeting  that  a  supplementary  list  of  con- 
tributors be  published. 

On  motion  by  Mr.  P.  B.  Winston,  Mr.  Pillsbury  was  given  a  hearty 
vote  of  thanks  for  the  very  efficient  manner  in  which  Ii3  performed 
his  duties  as  chairman. 

On  motion  by  Nelson  Williams,  a  medal  and  a  resolution  were 
ordered  sent  to  the  fireman  on  Engineer  Root's  train.  Adjourned. 

At  a  regular  meeting  of  the  Citizens'  Relief  Association  of  Min- 
neapolis, held  October  22nd,  1894,  the  following  resolution  was 
unanimously  passed : 

Resolved,  That  this  committee  now,  at  the  ending  of  its  service 
and  final  report,  tender  to  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  Railway  Company 
their  heartfelt  thanks  for  many  favors  and  kindnesses  shown,  and  es- 
pecially do  we  thank  General  Manager  Mr.  A.  B.  Plough,  and  Assis- 
tant General  Manager  Mr.  L.  S.  Miller,  for  their  untiring  efforts  in 
getting  the  special  committees  and  physicians  appointed  by  the  citi- 
zens' committee,  to  Hinckley,  there  and  return;  and  for  their  free 
transportation  of  fire  sufferers  to  this  city;  and  the  sending  of  sup- 
plies to  Pine  City,  Minnesota;  and  that  a  copy  of  this  resolution  be 
sent  to  Manager  Plough  and  Assistant  General  Manager  Miller,  and 
that  it  be  printed  in  our  daily  papers. 

STATEMENT. 


Source. 

Attorneys    

Book  No. 
...          IO 

Cash. 

$561  oo 

Mdse. 

Total. 

S^6  1  oo 

Wholesale  dealers  .  . 

2 

2  666  52 

•?  8?6  c-? 

Banks,  bankers,  etc 

? 

c  761  8? 

6  287  87 

Chamber  of  Commerce 

4 

2,4Xroo 

2  4.^^  OO 

Lumbermen    . 

C^onn 

•?  ficn  nn 

•7   180  ru"> 

352 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


Source. 

Book  No. 

6 

Cash. 
I2.OO 

Mdse. 

Total. 
I2.0O 

I5OOO 

I50.0C> 

Ag'l  implement  dealers 
General  subscriptions.  . 

12 

i  and     8 

570.50 
3H-35 
3,721.68 

25.00 

3,740.73 

595-50 
3H-35 

7,462.41 

7 

1,288.52 

I5O.OO 

1  50.00 

11 

4  60040 

5,988.01 

Totals 

$22,730.93 

$3,505.00 

$29,976.66 

Cash 

.  .$22,730.93 

3.740-73 

Merchandise 

3,740.73 — uncollected. 


Total    $29,976.66 

George  D.  Holt,  the  secretary  of  the  Associated  Charities  of  Min- 
neapolis since  its  organization  in  1885,  was  secured  by  the  commis- 
sion to  represent  it  and  conduct  its  work  of  registration  and  perma- 
nent relief  at  Duluth. 

He  accompanied  the  commission  and  Mayor  W.  H.  Eustis  on  their 
first  visit  to  that  city  on  September  seventh,  and  together  with  them 
looked  over  the  field  and  remained  in  charge  of  the  work  at  that 
place  until  he  had  named  his  successor,  and  was  placed  by  the  com- 
mission permanently  in  charge  of  the  relief  work  at  Hinckley  and 
vicinity. 

Mr.  Holt's  experience  in  the  conduct  and  management  of  the  fire 
relief  work  connected  with  the  extensive  Northeast  Minneapolis  fire, 
occuring  in  August,  1893,  at  which  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
poor  families  were  rendered  homeless  in  a  night,  the  better  fitted  him 
for  the  painstaking,  arduous  and  often  thankless  task  of  rendering 
immediate  temporary  aid  to  bonafide  and  deserving  fire  sufferers 
only,  and  still  help  them  without  fostering  dependency  to  permanent 
relief,  and  final  disposition. 

THE  HOMCEOPATHIC  HOSPITAL. 

The  authorities  of  this  institution  took  great  care  of  Mrs.  Green- 
field. It  was  a  wonder  to  many  who  knew  the  seriousness  of  the  in- 
juries she  had  sustained,  when  it  was  told  that  she  was  recovering. 
Only  great  skill  and  the  most  faithful  nursing  could  have  brought 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  353 

this  about.  She  was,  all  through  her  illness,  oppressed  with  the 
memory  of  the  sad  end  of  her  five  dear  children,  who  died  before 
her  eyes,  and  also  with  the  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  her  faithful  and 
hard  working  husband  had  to  begin  live  anew,  having  lost  his  all.  It 
is  a  providence  to  him  that  his  wife  is  spared  to  help  him  in  the 
future,  as  in  the  past. 

Mr.  Greenfield's  conduct  all  through  the  eight  months'  work  of 
the  state  commission  commended  him  to  it. 

Mrs.  Greenfield,  a  victim  of  the  fire  north  of  Hinckley,  was  brought 
to  Minneapolis  and  assigned  to  the  Homeopathic  hospital  September 
4th,  1894.  Upon  examination  of  her  injuries,  it  was  found  that  the 
burns  and  wounds  covered  two-thirds  of  her  entire  body,  and  were 
of  so  serious  a  nature  that  the  physicians  entertained  little  hope  of 
saving  her  life.  For  five  long  months  she  lay  unable  to  help  herself 
in  any  way.  The  burns  were  so  deep  and  severe  that  any  attempt  to 
move  aggravated  the  pain  and  caused  bleeding  from  the  large  raw 
surfaces. 

Special  care  was  given  her  day  and  night,  and  at  first  it  was  neces- 
sary to  dress  the  wounds  every  four  hours  with  cerates  and  antisep- 
tics. As  she  improved,  the  dressing,  of  course,  was  done  less  fre- 
quently; much  patience  was  requisite  in  caring  for  her,  as  such  ex- 
treme suffering  of  so  long  standing  causes  irritability,  for  which  a 
patient  should  not  be  held  responsible. 

As  recovery  advanced  she  manifested  by  the  many  kind  things  she 
said,  her  gratitude  for  what  had  been  done  in  her  behalf,  and  realized 
that  she  had  been  saved  from  the  very  jaws  of  death. 

Dr.  Matchen  deserves  great  credit  for  his  skill  displayed  in  the 
treatment  of  this  case,  as  well  as  for  his  kindly  attendance,  for  Mrs. 
Greenfield  was  not  only  the  worst  burned  of  all  the  victims  who  re- 
covered, but  naturally  the  case  was  of  long  continuance.  It  was, 
nearly  seven  months  from  the  date  of  her  entering  this  hospital 
before  she  was  able  to  leave  it.  The  care  given  was  of  the  best,  and 
nothing  was  spared  which  could  benefit  her. 

Mrs.  Greenfield,  in  addition  to  her  physical  suffering,  had  the  grief 
to  bear  of  the  loss  of  five  children  by  the  fire ;  four  daughters  and  one 
son. 

MINNEAPOLIS,  MINN.,  April  26,  1895. 

In  answer  to  your  letter,  we  shall  say  that  two  cases  of  the  fire 
sufferers  were  sent  to  St.  Mary's  Hospital,  -Minneapolis.  Mr.  Larson 


354  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

got  well  enough  to  leave  the  hospital  in  two  weeks.  Mrs.  Ham- 
mond was  taken  with  pneumonia,  besides  being  burned  very  severely 
all  over;  she  is  now  just  able  to  take  care  of  herself,  but  not  to  work. 

Yours  respectfully, 

^ST'-ill  JANE  FRANCES. 

Fully  2,500  people  paid  admission  to  hear  the  concert  given  by  the 
Minneapolis  Musicianc'  Association  in  tho  Exposition  hall  yesterday 
afternoon,  in  behalf  of  the  fire  sufferers.  Long  before  the  doors 
opened  a  1' rge  crowd  was  ga"%ere  at  'hi  entrance  and  was  waiting 
for  the  first  chance  to  get  the  best  seats,  but  on  account  of  the  size 
of  the  hall  those  who  came  late  even  were  not  disappointed  in  regard 
to  seats.  The  crowd  was  enthusiastic  and  showed  its  appreciation  by 
generous  applause,  number  after  number  being  encored,  and  the 
speeches  whi  -!  were  •  ivrsi  .rsed  through  the  program  were  listened 
to  with  rapt  attention,  and  very  often  the  speaker  touched  a  re- 
sponsive chord  in  the  hearts  of  his  audience,  and  then  the  applause 
was  great.  The  hall  was  prettily  decorated  with  ferns,  the  gift  of 
some  of  Minneapolis'  florists,  and  everything  about  the  entertainment 
was  donated  by  generous  Minneapolis  people,  and  apt  was  the  re- 
mark which  Mayor  Eustis  made  in  the  course  of  his  remarks,  namely, 
that  he  was  well  pleased  with  the  flavor  of  Minneapolis  giving. 

The  program  from  the  musical  standpoint  was  one  of  the  finest 
which  had  been  given  in  this  city,  and  the  Musicians'  Association 
may  well  feel  proud  of  this  effort  in  behalf  of  charity.  The  band 
was  composed  of  fifty-two  pieces,  and  the  selections  which  it  rendered 
w-ere  of  first-class  quality;  the  musicians  seemed  to  be  in  sympathy 
with  their  work.  Rossini's  "William  Tell"  was  played  with  wonder- 
ful effect,  and  the  applause  which  followed  showed  that  the  audience 
appreciated  the  effort.  The  selection  from  Donizetti's  "Lucia"  by  the 
grand  opera  quartet  received  a  merited  recall,  and  the  popular  Ma- 
sonic quartet's  selection  also  was  well  received.  Mr.  Laird's  cornet 
solo  and  Frank  Danz,  Jr.'s,  violin  solo  were  features  of  the  program. 

Mayor  Eustis.  in  his  address,  was  at  his  best,  and  as  he  related 
incidents  that  occurred  in  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  sufferers,  his 
hearers  were  moved  to  tears;  as  he  told  of  the  deeds  of  heroism  and 
of  self-sacrifice  which  have  characterized  the  people  in  the  fire-ridden 
district  he  was  interrupted  often  by  the  plaudits  of  the  people  who 
admired  bravery.  The  address  of  Rev.  Father  Cleary  was  along 
the  line  of  congratulating  the  citizens  of  Minneapolis  on"  their  whole- 
hearted generosity.  Rev.  W.  H.  Geisweit  closed  the  program  by 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  355 

thanking  those  who  rendered  their  services  gratis  and  thus  made 
the  concert  yesterday  afternoon  possible. 

The  receipts  from  the  concert  will  foot  up  to  about  $1,200,  as  there 
were  about  5,000  tickets  sold. 

During  the  w:eek,  Prof.  J.  A.  Walker,  with  200  of  his  pupils,  will 
give  his  "Pageant  of  Nations,"  which  was  so  popular  at  Lake  Harriet 
this  summer,  in  the  Exposition  hall.  A  number  of  new  dances  will 
be  presented,  and  the  proceeds  from  the  entertainments  will  be  de- 
voted exclusively  to  the  fire  sufferers.  Jim  Root,  the  brave  engineer, 
will  tell  his  experience  tomorrow  night. 

Detailed  statement  of  subscriptions  to  fire  relief  fund  turned  over 
to  Chairman  Winston,  of  the  finance  committee,  up  to  this  noon, 
September  I5th;  this  will  undoubtedly  be  augmented  by  other  re- 
turns, such  as  baseball,  theatrical  and  musical  entertainments  that 
are  waiting  for  complete  returns  from  sale  of  tickets,  etc.,  before  re- 
porting. Benefit  sales  of  merchants,  etc.,  will  be  reported  when 
heard  from.  Same  as  to  churches  and  societies  not  yet  heard  from. 

So   far  reported   from   Bijou   Theater,   $1,400;    People's  Theater, 

$979.50. 

Arcade  Investment  Company,  $25;  Altman,  Taylor  Machine  Com- 
pany, $25;  Ally,  A.  J.,  $5;  Aultman,  C.  &  Co.,  $5;  Aultman,  Miller 
&  Co.,  $25 ;  Appleton  Manufacturing  Company,  $5 ;  Advance 
Thresher  Company,  $25;  Arnott  &  Corbett,  $10;  Ames,  E.  B.,  $5; 
Ancient  Order  Hibernians,  Division  No.  I,  $50;  Andrew  Presby- 
terian Church,  $22.40;  American  Loan  Association  (officials),  $63; 
Amsden,  C.  M.,  $20;  Austin,  Horace,  $10;  Allen,  J.  S.  &  Co.,  $10; 
Advent  Church,  $14;  Atwater,  J.  B.,  $50;  Anderson,  Dr.  J.  D.,  $50; 
Allen,  J.  S.,  $i ;  Ainsworth,  C.  F.,  $i ;  Ankeny,  John  J.,  $i ;  Allen, 
A.  E.,  $i;  Alexander,  J.  B.,  $i;  Adler,  Max  &  Co.,  $5;  All  Saints' 
Church,  $6;  Abbott,  J.  H.  &  Co.,  $5;  Adams,  J.  Q.  &  Co.,  $25;  An- 
drews &  Gage,  $10;  American  Express  Company  (employes),  $10.50; 
Ainsworth,  G.  A.,  $i ;  Altman  &  Co.  (clothing),  $100;  Averill,  H.  S., 
$i ;  Arcana  Chapter,  O.  E.  S.,  $5. 

Brown,  H.  W.,  $250;  Bank  of  Minneapolis,  $125;  Beall,  George 
S.,  &  Co.,  $10;  Bell,  D.  C.,  Investment  Company,  $25;  Bauman,  J., 
$5;  Brown,  Haywood  Co.,  $25;  Bradbury,  George  B.,  &  Co.,  $10; 
Bass,  G.  W.,  $5;  Bemis  Bros.  Bag  Company,  $100;  Butters,  William, 
$5;  Budd,  O.  P.,  Kasota,  Minn.,  $10;'  Babcock,  C.  W.,  Kasota, 


356 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  357 

Minn.,  $25 ;  Babcock,  Mary  K,  Kasota,  Minn.,  $5 ;  Baily,  F.  B.,  $5 ; 
Black,  Rev.  George  D.,  $5;  Brick  Layer's  Union,  by  Gus  Bloom, 
$10;  Barton,  A.  B.,  $5;  Bismarck  Grove,  No.  32,  U.  A.  O.  D.,  $10; 

Blodgett, .,  $2;    Benton,  R.  C,  $10;    Barnes,  H.  E.,  Jr.,  $5; 

Booth,  Wilbur  F.,  $5;  Brown,  Jalew,  50  cents;  Bram,  J.  A.,  $5; 
Best,  E.  D.,  50  cents;  Bladon,  James,  &  Co.,  $5;  B.  &.  P.,  $2; 
Brown,  Dan  C,  $2;  Bogerth,  G.,  $i;  Bovey,  DeLaittre  Lumber 
Company,  $200;  Brown,  H.  F.,  $200;  Bassett,  J.  B.,  &  Co.,  $100; 
Backus, 'E.  W.,  &  Co.,  $100;  Bailey,  L.  J.,  $5;  Bison,  J.  M.,  $2; 
Bealls,  W.  R.,  $5;  Bucheler,  A.,  $10;  Bradney,  Joseph,  $5 ;  Boys,  $6; 
Barber,  D.  R.  &  Son,  $20;  Brown,  W.  P.,  $5;  Brooks,  Griffith  & 
Co.,  $25 ;  Bagley,  George  C.,  Elevator  Company,  $25 ;  Berger  Com- 
mission Company,  $10;  Benton,  W.  S.,  $20;  Beltz  Bros.,  $10; 
Bowen,  E.  D.,  $5;  Barnes,  G.  S.,  &  Co.,  $10;  Brundage,  Miss  Addie, 
$10 ;  Browning,  King  &  Co.  (clothing),  $50;  Brown,  Jonas  (liquors), 
$25;  Bosquit  &  Co.  (beef),  $10;  Bradley,  David,  &  Co.,  $25;  Bap- 
tist Church,  Garden  City,  Minn.,  $11;  Bosch,  H.  F.  W.,  $15. 

Columbian  National  Bank,  $100;  City  Bank,  $125;  Carpenter, 
H.  M.,  $100;  Casey,  T.  B.,  $50;  Cooley,  C.  R.,  $10;  Conroy,  Ed.,  $5; 
Carter,  Rittenberg  &  Hainlin  Company,  $35;  Cleveland  Rubber 
Works,  $10;  Collom,  George  H.,  $10;  Countryman,  L.  N.,  $10; 
Cade,  E.  O.,  $5;  Castle,  G.  A.,  $10;  Crosby,  John,  $25;  Crosby,  Em- 
ma, $25;  Church  of  Ascension  (Catholic),  $40;  Clark,  J.  H.,  $50; 
Chadbourne,  C.  H.,  $10;  Collins,  P.  Y.,  $2;  cash,  from  Guaranty 
Loan  Building,  $41.50;  cash,  F.  D.  U.,  $25;  Choate  &  Merrill,  $$_; 
Cohen,  Emanuel,  $25;  Cobb  &  Wheelwright,  $10;  Cross,  W.  M.,  $i ; 
Chase,  S.  A.,  $5;  Chase,  C.  W.,  $5;  Crawford,  F.  H.,  25  cents; 
Crickler,  C.  H.,  $i;  Cash,  S.  M.  Company,  $5;  C.  C.  Company,  $5; 
C.  (W.  N.),  $i;  Chandler,  W.  B.,  $2;  Chapman,  R.  M.,  $5;  Cash, 

B.  C.  B.,  $10 ;    Collins,  W.,  $i ;    Cappellen,  F.  W.,  $5;    Clarke,  N. 
P.,  &  Co.,  $100;  Cash,  A.,  $15;  Chief  of  Police  (office),  $12;  Cudahy 
Packing  Company,  $25;    Commons,  Bassett  &  Co.,  $25;    Christian, 
L.,  &  Co.,  $15;   Cargill,  S.  D.,  $25 ;   Chambers,  A.  G.,  $10;   Central 
Elevator  Company,  The,  $25;    Christian,  George  H.,  $20;    Crosby, 

C.  F.,  $5;    Columbia  Elevator  Company,  $10;    Company  "B/'  First 
Regiment,  $50:  Church  &  Co.,  New  York  City  (through  G.  R.  New- 
ell &  Co.),  $125;    Columbian  Meat  Market  (beef),  $20;    City  Meat 
Market  (beef),  $20;  Crane  &  Ordway  Company,  $10;  Chowen,  Minn. 
(citizens  of),  $15.60;    Clarksville,  Iowa  (citizens  of),  $22;    cash  re- 
ceived from  various  persons,  $196.10. 


358  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

Dyer,  W.  J.,  &  Bros.,  $25;  Dickey,  C.  N.,  $10;  Dodson,  Fisher, 
Brockmann  Company,  $50;  Davis,  J.  M.,  $5;  Davis,  A.,  Sons  & 
Co.,  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  (through  George  R.  Newell  &  Co.),  $25;  De- 
Land  &  Co.,  Fairport,  New  York,  (through  George  R.  Newell  & 
Co.),  $56.52;  Dean  &  Co.,  $50;  Deere  &  Webber  Company,  $100; 
Deering  Harvesting  Company,  $25;  Donaldson,  William  &  Co., 
$200;  Diamond  Iron  Works,  $20;  De  La  Barre,  William,  $10;  De- 
Land  &  Co.,  Fairport,  New  York,  (through  Anthony  Kelly  Com- 
pany), $54.20;  Dorn,  G.  F.,  $10;  Decker,  W.  F.,  (from  Guaranty 
Loan  Building),  $16.50;  Decker,  W.  F.,  $10;  Downs  Bros.,  $10; 
DeLand  &  Co.,  Fairport,  New  York,  (through  Winston,  Farring- 
ton  &  Co),  $40.90;  Davis,  F.  F.,  $10;  Douglass,  George  P.,  $5; 
Day  bros.,  $5;  De  Mille,  X.  S.,  $5;  Darelius,  A.  B.,  $5;  Dodge,  F. 
B.,  $5;  Dorsett,  C.  W.  &  M.  A.,  $2;  Deschler,  H.,  $5;  Dunn,  L.  A., 
$i;  Deacon,  Thomas,  $i;  Dickey,  T.  S.,  $i ;  Day,  J.  W.,  &  Co., 
$200;  Davis-Hubbard  Company,  $10;  Davigneaux,  G.,  $5;  Dun- 
woody,  May  and  Ruth,  and  Ruth  Bayless,  $2;  Dwight,  John,  & 
Co.,  New  York,  $125. 

Eustis,  W.  H.  $100;  Ege,  J.  H.,  $25;  Electrical  Engineering 
Company,  $10;  Elfelt,  C.  C.,  $5;  Emerson,  Talcott  &  Co.,  $20; 
Elliott,  Wyman,  $100;  Earl  Fruit  Company,  $10;  employes  of  J.  W. 
Thomas,  $i;  Emerson  &  Hall,  $25;  Edwards,  E.  J.,  $10;  Euste, 
J.  B.  &  F.,  $5;  Elliot,  Albert  F.,  $2;  Elliot,  J.  K.  &  Co.,  $5;  Ele,  A., 
$5;  Elliot,  J.  P.,  $i;  Earvington,  James,  $5;  Empire  Elevator  Com- 
pany, $35 ;  Engineers'  Club  of  Minneapolis,  $i  I ;  Eintech  Lodge, 
No.  117,  A.  O.  U.  W.,  $10. 

Farmers'  &  Mechanics'  Savings  Bank,  $250;  Ferguson,  S.  T.,  $5; 
Fisher,  R.  G.,  $9;  Fieber,  Jordon  &  Co.,  $5;  First  Swedish  Metho- 
dist Church,  $9.30;  French,  George  F.,  $25;.  Farm,  Stock  and  Home, 
$25;  Firkins,  O.  W.,  $10;  Fanning,  N.  O.,  $5;  Flour  Packers'  and 
Nailers'  Union,  $10;  Fletcher,  George  H.,  Board  of  Trade,  $5; 
Firkins,  O.  W.,  Jr.,  Kasota,  Minn.,  $i ;  friend,  $i ;  friend,  $i ;  Foss 
M.  E.  Church,  $15;  First  Baptist  Church,  $107.70;  Fifth  Avenue 
Congregational  Church,  $8.25;  Frankhauser,  H.  F.,  25  cents;  First 
Unitarian  Church,  $18.61;  Fornere,  H.  D.,  $3;  Flanagan,  J.  B.,  $50; 
friend,  50  cents;  Field,  J.  W.,  $5;  Fisher,  R.  G,  $8.20;  Fraser, 
Austin,  $10;  Freemire,  W.  A.,  &  Co.,  $5;  Fletcher,  Loren,  $100; 
faculty  of  University  of  Minnesota,  $31 ;  First  M.  E.  Church,  $12.80; 
First  Norwegian  Presbyterian  Church,  $3.50;  Father  Hennepin 
Branch,  Catholic  Knights  of  America,  $12;  Frisk-Turner  Company 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  359 

(clothing),  $50;   First  Free  Baptist  Church,  $17.76;    Fourth  Baptist 
Church,  $8.60;   Fife,  $5. 

Germania  Bank,  $25;  German  American  Bank,  $50;  Gillette,  Her- 
zog  Manufacturing  Company,  $100;  Guaranty  Loan  Barber  Shop, 
$12;  Gilmore,  D.  M.,  $5;  Gluck,  F.  P.,  &  Co.,  $10;  Gangelhoff,  C. 
H.,  $10;  Gamble-Robinson  Commission  Company,  $5;  Goodrich, 
H.  H.,  $5;  Gleason,  J.  M.,  $10;  Gluck  Brewing  Company,  $100; 
Gedney,  M.  A.,  Pickling  Company,  $25;  Gluck,  Mrs.  F.,  $10;  Ger- 
man Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  $7;  German  Lutheran  Church, 
Kenyon,  Minn.,  $8.75;  G.  A.  R.  S.,  $i;  Grosse,  Max  H.,  $5;  Grosse, 
Julius,  $3;  Gilman,  Julia  A.,  $2;  Gee,  C.  S.,  $i;  Gull  River  Lumber 
Company,  $200;  Greenleaf  &  Tenny,  $20;  Getchell,  Daniel,  $i ; 
Great  Western  Elevator  Company,  $25;  German  Baptist  Church, 
$11:  Gutworth  &  Drew  (beef)  $15;  Gannon,  M.,  50  cents;  G.  (II. 
M.),  $i; 

Hennepin  County  Savings  Bank,  $50;  Herrick  Bros.,  $25;  Hen- 
nepin  County  Medical  Society,  $100;  Harrison,  Hugh,  $50;  Howell, 
R.  R.,  &  Co'.,  $5;  Hillman  Bros.,  $5;  Mooker,  Manley  Cigar  Com- 
pany, $25;  Hall,  A.  H.,  $10 ;  Healey  &  Co.,  $5;  Henry,  F.  H. 
Aryshire,  Iowa,  $5;  Hansen,  H.,  $2;  Highland  Park  Church,  $5.02; 
Holy  Trinity  Episcopal  Church,  $15.52;  Hennepin  Council,  No. 
1234,  Royal  Arcanum,  $10;  Holm,  W.  J.,  $25;  Haynes,  J.  C.,  $25; 
Hale,  W.  E.,  $25;  Hedderly  &  McCracken,  $5;  Haynes,  A.  E.,  $2; 
Hume  &  Davis,  $5;  Hulburd  &  Clare,  $3;  Higgins,  C.  W.,  $i ; 
Hayes,  Warren  H.,  $5;  Hill,  G.  S.,  $i;  Hayward,  W.  W.,  $3;  Har- 
low,  E.  B.,  $i ;  Hall,  P.  M.,  $5;  Hill,  W.  S.,  $100;  Hungarian  Amer- 
ican Club,  $8;  Humboldt  Mill  Company,  $25;  Hanson,  Thomas,  $5; 
Harper,  Thayer  &  Co.,  $5;  Haines,  $5;  Hennepin  M.  E.  Church, 
$54;  Hewett,  S.  M.,  $5;  Hitchcuk,  D.  L.,  Gorham,  X.  H.,  $25. 

Irish- American  Bank,  $50;  Itaska  Lumber  Company,  H.  C.  Ack- 
ley  Lumber  Company,  $300;  Ideal  Literary  Society,  $5;  Inter-State 
Grain  Company,  $25 ;  Interior  Elevator  Company,  $25 ;  Immaculate 
Conception  Church,  $80. 

Journal,  Minneapolis,  (subscriptions  received  by),  $744.87;  John- 
son, J.  W.,  $25 ;  Johnson,  Albert,  $25 ;  Johnson,  H.  C.,  $5 ;  Jamiy, 
Semple  &  Co.,  $300;  Joyslin,  J.  C.,  $5;  Jacobson,  E.  D.,  $5;  janitors 
and  elevator  boys  of  New  York  Life  Building,  $9;  Jorguson,  Clans, 
Belgrade,  Minn.,  $i;  Journal,  Minneapolis,  $50;  Jamison,  W.  S., 
Board  of  Trade,  $10;  Jackson,  A.  B.,  $50;  Janson,  M.  G.,  50  cents; 


360  MINNESOTA  FOUEST  FIRES. 

Jones,  Paul,  $i ;  Jones,  J.  A.,  $i;  Jones,  Alice,  50  cents;  Johnson, 
H.,  $i;  Johns,  James,  &  Co.,  $5;  Janny,  Sempk  &  Co.  (employes), 
$38.50;  Jacobson-Milkolas  Company,  The,  $10;  Johnson,  W.  AY. 
(car  lumber),  $50;  Jacob  Schaeffer  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  $5. 

Kirkbridge,  Palmer  &  Co.,  $10;  Kelly,  Anthony,  &  Co.,  $100; 
Kinsel,  Lem,  $2;  Kaiser  Wilhelm  Lodge,  No.  2,  Sons  of  Herman, 
$25;  Keith,  Evans,  Thompson  &  Fairchild,  $50;  Koon,  Whelan  & 
Bennett,  $50;  King,  Cornelia,  $5 ;  Kennedy,  Elizabeth,  $2;  King,  H. 
K.,  &  Co.,  $10;  Kensington,  Minn,  (citizens  of),  $25;  Keller  &  Roe- 
nisch  &  Co.  (beef),  $10;  Kennedy  Bros.,  $10;  Kitchell,  S.  R.,  $25. 

Lane,  J.  S.,  $5;  Linton,  A.  H.,  $50;  Lund,  Erick,  $5;  Lyman,  Eliel 
Drug  Co.,  $200;  Le  Roy,  Minn.,  Citizens  of,  $46.33;  Linsay  Bros., 
$50;  Lewis  &  Co.,  $10;  Longfellow,  L.,  &  Bros.,  $10;  Linton,  S.  S., 
&  Co.,  $25;  Leonard,  Wm.  E.,  $5;  Le  Roy,  Final,  New  York,  $20; 
Legg,  H.  R,  Jewelry  Co.,  $20;  Lydiard,  L.  A.,  $i ;  Loaf,  W.,  $i ; 
Ladies'  Aid  Soc.,  Swedish  Lutheran  Agustana  Church,  $25. 

Metropolitan  Bank,  $100;  Minnesota  Loan  &  Trust  Co.,  $125; 
Minneapolis  Trust  Co.,  $125;  Minnesota  Fire  Insurance  Co.,  $100; 
Minnetonka  Meat  and  Provision  Co.,  $10;  Menzel  Foundry  Co., 
$10;  McDonald  Bros.,  $30;  Minneapolis  Iron  Store  Co.,  $100;  Mc- 
Millan, Jas.,  Co.,  $10 ;  McKusick,  Copelin  Co.,  $10;  Minneapolis 
Threshing  Machine  Co.,  $25;  Milburn  &  Stoddard  Co.,  $25;  Min- 
nesota Moline  Plow  Co.,  $50;  Minneapolis  Plow  Works,  $20;  Mor- 
rison &  Stowbridge,  $5;  Moffett,  J.  B.,  $5;  McMillan  &  Co.,  $100; 
Michener,  A.  H.,  $5;  Minneapolis  Fire  Department  Relief  As- 
sociation, $1,000;  Morrison,  Clinton,  $100;  Minneapolis  Fruit  Ex- 
change, $100 ;  Alinneapolis  Brewing  Co.,  $500;  Metcalf  &  Youatt, 
Kasota,  Minn.,  $5;  Maple  Plain,  Minn.,  Citizens  of,  $15;  Martin- 
dale,  Dr.  J.  H.,  $25;  Moffett,  F.  L.,  $5;  McGowan,  H.  S.,  Board 
of  Trade,  $i ;  Minneapolis  Dry  Goods  Co.,  $207.15;  Milwaukee 
Harvester  Co.,  of  Minneapolis,  $25 ;  Montezuma  Aztec  Council  No. 
4,  $15;  Minneapolis  Dancing  Club,  $12;  Miimehaha  Lodge  No.  81, 
A.  O.  U.  W.,  $10;  McHale,  J.  J.,  $2;  Moore,  J.  G,  25  cents;  Mc- 
Carthy, Nathaniel,  $2;  Mooney  &  Dassett,  $2;  Mahoney,  Stephen, 
$5;  McAllister,  J.  C.,  $i;  Moore,  H.,  $i;  Moffett,  W.  Z.,  $i;  Mil- 
ler, J.  H.,  $5;  Municipal  Court  Officers,  $5;  Minnehaha  Council  R. 
A.  No.  1160,  $25;  Mohler,  Wm.  B.,  $5;  McEnary,  J.  H.,  $i;  Mc- 
Carthy Bros.,  $10 ;  Martin  &  Wyman,  $20;  Mcc'ord,  T.,  &  Co., 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  361 

$10;  Marshall,  James,  $5;  Mayer,  C.  E.,  $5;  Momaw,  The  Geo.  A., 
Co.,  $10;  Moore  £  Maxfield,  $10;  Minn.  &  Western  Grain  Co.,  $10; 
Morse,  Samuel,  $15.;  Minneapolis  Union  Elevator  Co.,  $10;  Met- 
calf,  T.  C.,  $5;  Minnesota  Linseed  Oil  Works,  $20;  Milwaukee  Har- 
vester Co.,  of  Minneapolis,  $25;  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul  Baseball 
Game,  $749.46;  Minneapolis  Musicians'  Association,  $717.50;  Moni- 
ter  Manufacturing  Co.,  $10;  Minneapolis  Provision  Co.,  beef, $30; 
Morison,  W.  K.,  &  Co.,  nails,  $25;  Martin,  John,  $50;  Morrison,  D., 
$100;  McDougall,  Geo.  A.,  $10;  Monarch  Elevator  Co.,  $25;  Merz, 
John,  Spencerport,  X.  Y.,  $2.27;  Merion,  Mrs.  L.  O.,  Emerson  & 
Hall,  $i. 

X.  W.  National  Bank,  $500;  Nicollet  National  Bank,  $250;  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Commerce,  $250;  Northern  Trust  Co.,  $50;  New 
England  Furniture  &  Carpet  Co.,  $100;  Northrup,  Braslan  &  Good- 
win Co.,  $50;  North  Star  Woolen  Mills,  $25;  Newell,  Geo.  R.,  & 
Co.,  $300;  North  Star  Boot  &  Shoe  Co.,  $125;  Nott,  W.  S.,  &  Co., 
$50;  Nicholas  &  Shepard  Co.,  $10;  Northwestern  Implement  & 
Wagon  Co.,  $20;  Northwestern  Miller,  $50;  North  Star  Barrel  Co., 
$25;  Nobody,  50  cents;  Xagel,  T.  W.,  50  cents;  Nelson,  Tenny  & 
Co.,  $200;  Xorris,  W.  H.,  $15;  No.  19  Engine  House,  $14;  National 
Beef  Co.,  $30;  Xicholas  &  Taylor,  $10;  X.  W.  Elevator  Co.,  $25; 
Xye,  Jenks  &  Co.,  $15;  X'orthwestern  Consolidated  Milling  Co., 
$100 ;  North  M.  E.  Church,  Camden  Place,  $35;  Xew  York  Biscuit 
Co.,  crackers,  $25;  Xorth  Star  Woolen  Mill,  blankets,  $25;  Xye, 
Vv*.  G.,  $5;  Nelson,  Chas.,  $i. 

Oswald,  J.  C.,  &  Co.,  $100 ;  Olson  &  Fjellman,  $10;  Ostrander, 
M.  A.,  Kasota,  Minn.,  $5;  Oliver  Presbyterian  Church,  $37.12;  Owre, 
Lars,  $i;  Ogden,  John,  $i ;  Osborn,  McMillan  Elevator  Co.,  $25'; 
Osborn,  E.  F.,  &  Co.,  $5;  Olson,  S.  E.,  &  Co.,  $402.40;  Orquist, 
C.  G.,  $i ;  Odin  Lodge  A.  O.  D.,  $10. 

Plummer,  W.  A.,  $5;  Peck,  O.  H,  $10;  Pond  &  Hasy  Co.,  $5; 
Park  Avenue  Congregational  Church,  $38.42;  Patterson  &  Stev- 
eson,  $50;  Preece,  J.  T.,  Mercantile  Co.,  $25;  Pratt,  A.  M.,  &  Co., 
$10;  Porter  Bros.  &  Co.,  $10;  Potter,  E.  F.,  $5;  Paris,  Murton  Co., 
$10;  Pillsbury,  Mrs.  F.  C.,  $25;  Pearce,  H.  C.,  $2;  Perry,  J.  H.,  $5; 
Pratt,  Helen  A.,  $5;  Petran,  Henry  J.,  $10;  Postoffice  Employes, 
$115;  Palace  Clothing  Co.,  $25;  Pierce,  Mrs.  Margaret,  $5;  Phone, 
Mr.  Chas.,  $2;  Parkhurst,  A.  G.,  $3;  Powell,  Wm.,  $5;  Pope,  E.  R., 
Board  of  Trade,  $2;  Press  Club  "Old  Hoss"  Ball  Game,  $214;  Per- 


3C2 


FOREST  FIRES. 


kins,  John  W.,  $2;  Peck,  H.  X.,  $5;  Pioneer  Fuel  Co.,  $50;  Purely, 
M.  D.,  $i;  Parkhurst,  M.  I.,  $i;  Perry,  J.  H.,  $5;  Plummer,  J.  A., 
$i;- Pilgrim  Congregational  Church,  $9;  Porter.,  A.  H.,  $i ;  Palmer, 
Edna,  $4.50;  Police,  Second  Precinct,  $27;  Police,  First  Precinct, 
$32.50;  Plummer,  J.  G.,  $10;  Powell,  H.  C,  $10;  Police,  Tliird  Pre- 
cinct, $37;  Police,  Fourth  Precinct,  $30;  Police,  Fifth  Precinct,  $19; 
Plymouth  Lodge  No.  79,  K.  of  P.,  $25;  Place,  Col.  E.  B.,  New  York- 
City,  $100 ;  Pillsbury,  Washburn,  Crosby  Flour  Mills  Co.,  $500; 
Phoenix  Mill  Co.,  $20;  Poehler,  H.,  $10;  Pertig,  H.  G.,  $5;  Peacock, 
J.  H.,  $5;  Piper,  G.  F.,  $i ;  Peavey  Elevator  Co.,  $25;  Peavey,  F.  H.. 
&  Co.,  $100;  Periman,  D.,  $5;  Park  Avenue  Congregational  Church, 
$2;  Pettijohn,  Eli,  Cereal  Co.,  breakfast  food,  $90;  Pratt,  Robt., 
$3.60;  Pierson,  Willie  B.,  47  cents;  Plymouth  Junior  Christian  En- 
deavor, $3;  Paulle,  L.,  $10. 

Quinn,  P.  G.,  $i. 

Rand,  A.  T.,  $125;  Rand,  A.  R.,  $125;  Rees,  Julius,  $5;  Russell,. 
Robt.  D.,  $10;  Revere  Rubber  Co.,  cashier,  $25;  Ryan,  D.  E.,  &  Co., 
$10;  Rinker  &  Hoff,  $20;  Regan  Bros.'  Employes,  $25;  Rich,  W. 
W.,  $10;  Rea,  Hubachek  &  Healy,  $10;  Reno,  R.  C.,  $10;  Robothan, 
Geo.,  Board  of  Trade,  $i ;  Roberts,  H.  P.,  $10;  Roensch,  Jos.,  $i; 
Russell,  T.  C.,  $i;  Reg.  Publishing  Co.,  $2.50;  Reese,  C.  B.,  50  cents; 
Redfielf,  Wm.  W.,  25  cents;  Robue,  Rufus,  $i ;  Ryan,  McKeown 
&  Co.,  $5 ;  Russell  Coffee  House,  $25 ;  Rogers,  Airs.  W.  F.,  $5. 

Security  Bank,  $500;  Swedish  American  Bank,  $100;  St.  Anthony 
Falls  Bank,  $50;  Scandia  Bank  of  Minneapolis,  $25;  Stewart,  L. 
M.,  $100;  Segelbaum,  S.,  $10;  Stone,  Jacob,  $5;  St.  John's  Church, 
Minnetonka  Mills,  $6.45;  Spink  &  Keyes,  $10;  Shea,  J.  A.,  &  Co., 
$10;  Smith,  H.  S.,  &  Co.,  $10;  Stacy,  E.  P.,  &  Sons,  $10;  Swanson 
Bros.,  $5;  Snyder,  James  E.,  $25;  Simmons,  H.  M.,  $10;  Shattuck 
£  Wood,  $20;  St.  Joseph's  Catholic  Church,  $57.88;  St.  Boniface 
Catholic  Church,  $35;  Silver  Lake  Congregational  Church,  $14.10; 
St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church,  $28.40;  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Sunday 
School,  $1.71;  Swedish  Bros.'  Society,  $50;  Shaw  and  Gray,  $100; 
Shaw,  Frank  W.,  $25;  Savage,  Ed.,  $10;  Sumner,  E.  W.,  $10;  Snyder 
Bros.,  $3;  Smith,  H.  E.,  $i;  Salfinger,  John  J.,  $i ;  Smith,  W.  H., 
50  cents;  Stone,  W.  M.,  $i;  Stevens,  C.  B.,  $2;  Sturzel,  E.  J.,  $i; 
Simpson,  David,  $3;  Shevlin  Carpenter  Co.,  $200;  Smith,  C.  A., 
Lumber  Co.,  $100;  Smith  &  Wyman,  $50;  Steele,  Dr.,  $5;  Shad- 
rick,  Master  Dickey,  40  cents;  Simmons,  A.  G.,  $5;  Security  Grain 


FOREST  FIRES.  3C3 

Co.,  $10;  Sowle,  C.  T.,  &  Sons,  $25;  Storms,  L.  E.,  $5;  Swart,  J. 
G.,  &  Co.,  $5;  Sawyer  Grain  Co.,  $5;  St.  Anthony  &  Dakota  Ele- 
vator Co.,  $25;  Strong  &  Miller,  $5;  Strong,  H.,  $5;  St.  Charles 
Church,  $31.20;  Supt,  Supervisors  &  Teachers  of  Public  Schools, 
$335.40;  South  Side  Citizens'  Meeting  held  at  Emanual  Baptist 
Church,  $95;  St.  Anthony  Falls  Masonic  Chapter  No.  3,  $50;  So- 
ciety Dania,  $25;  Scandinavian  Fire  Relief  Com.,  $654.87;  St.  An- 
thony Turn  Veren,  $25;  Sixth  Avenue  Evangelical  Church,  $11.40; 
Sixth  Avenue  Evangelical  Sunday  School,  $2.60;  St.  Benedict  So- 
ciety, $15;  Schuler,  F.,  $6.35;  Steuben  Lodge  Xo.  23,  Sons  of  Her- 
man, $10;  St.  Louis  Park,  Citizens  of,  $56;  Smeel,  C.  A.,  Mgr.,  $3; 
Shiek,  Fred,  $27. 

Tunstead  &  Moore,  $10;  Tuttle,  Rev.  J.  H.,  $5;  Thompson,  W. 
C.,  $2 ;  Twin  City  Hide  &  Tallow  Co.,  $5 ;  Thomas,  A.  C.,  $5 ;  Turner, 
Howard  A.,  $5;  Taussing,  S.,  &  Co.,  $10;  Tromanhauser  Bros., 
$20;  Thompson,  John  L,  $25;  Thayer,  Samuel,  $25;  Tribble,  Mrs. 
M.  E.,  Emerson  &  Hall,  $5;  Thame,  W.  B.,  $10;  Twin  City  Iron 
Works,  $25;  Todd,  J.  S.,  &  Co.,  $5;  Treadwell  Shoe  Co.,  $4;  Tay- 
lor, W.  X.,  &  Co.,  $5;  Trussell,  A.  X.,  $3;  Taylor,  Xorman,  £1.50; 
Trade  &  Labor  Council,  $10;  Third  Precinct,  $i ;  Twin  City  Rapid 
Transit  Co.,  ace.  of  benefit,  $216.40;  Taylor,  A.  B.,  &  Co.,  $5;  Tom- 
linson,  R.  B.,  &  Son,  caps,  gloves,  etc.,  $25;  Times,  Minneapolis, 
$50. 

Union  X^ational  Bank,  $100;  Unknown,  $5;  Unknown,  $i;  Un- 
known, $i;  Unknown,  $2;  U.  (R.  L.),  $i. 

Victoria  Elevator  Co.,  $10;  Van  Dusen,  Harrington  Co.,  $25; 
Yerhoff,  J.  C.,  $5;  Village  &  Congregation  Church  of  Robbinsdale, 
$49.07;  Vine  Congregational  Church,  $7.30;  Vetter,  Geo.,  $5;  Von 
Ende,  Aug.,  $i ;  Vose,  Z.  Pope,  $5;  Van  Dusen,  G.  W.,  $100. 

Washington  Bank,  $50;  Winston  Bros.,  $250;  Wyman,  Partridge 
&  Co.,  $750;  Winston,  Farrington  &  Co.,  $250;  Winecke  &  Doerr, 
$50;  Walters  &  Wagner,  $10;  Waite,  E.  F.,  $5;  Williamson,  L.  B., 
$5;  Wilcox,  .  S.,  Kasota,  Minn.,  $5;  Wedstrand,  C.  A.,  $5;  Welles, 
H.  T.,  $100;  \Vilkinson,  Rev.  \Vm.,  collection,  $10.21;  Willard,  Chas. 
A.,  $10 ;  Wolsey,  D.  W.,  50  cents;  Webster,  H.  G.,  $i;  Willis  & 
Dunham,  $2;  Warner,  H.  L.,  $i ;  Whitney,  E.  D.,  50  cents;  Win- 
gate,  W.  S.,  $2;  Wenzin,  John,  $2;  White,  M.  F.,  $15;  Washburn 
Crosby  Co.,  $500;  Watson  &  Co.,  $10;  \Vilson,  Geo.  S.,  $5;  Welsh 
&  Son,  $5;  Wheeler,  Carter  &  Co.,  $20;  Woodworth,  E.  S.,  £  Co., 


364 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  365 

$15;  Woodward  &  Co.,  $25;  Whalen  &  Co.,  $10;  Wagner,  D.  R., 
&  Co.,  $10 ;  Williams,  W.,  $i ;  Wyman,  Partridge  &  Co.,  employes, 
$100;  Washburn,  W.  D.,  $200;  Watertown  Steam  Engine  Co.,  $5; 
Wheeler,  Geo.  E.,  $5 ;  Wheeler,  Mrs.  Geo.  E.,  $5 ;  Washburn,  Crosby 
&  A.  B.  C.  S.  D.  Mill  employes,  $340;  Winter,  R.  H.,  $i;  Wolver- 
ton,  J.  A.,  $i ;  Woodman,  J.  W,  $i ;  Walker,  T.  B.,  $1,000. 

Young,  Winthrop,  $25;  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  $7.50;  Yerxa,  M.  W.,  $5. 

Zonne,  A.  E.  &.  F.  E.,  $5. 

Total,  $27,449.56. 

WHITE  BEAR. 

This  is  the  place  in  which  James  Root  and  Rev.  Father  Burke 
lived.  Through  White  Bear  the  railways  from  Minneapolis,  St. 
Paul  and  Stillwater,  on  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth,  pass  to  the  burned 
district,  so  the  people  knew  all  the  news  quickly.  The  report  shows 
what  steps  were  taken  to  assist  those  in  need. 

As  chairman  and  treasurer  of  the  White  Bear  Hinckley  relief  com- 
mittee, the  undersigned  has  the  honor  of  submitting  the  following 
report  of  cash  received  and  disbursed: 

Cash  received $359 . 50 

Cash  paid  out $342 .41 

Cash  on  hand 17.09        359-5° 

ALBERT  E.  QUIXN. 
STILLWATER. 

Stillwater  took  special  interest  in  Hinckley,  which  had  been  often 
said  to  be  a  Stillwater  town.  Ever  since  the  foundation  of  Hinck- 
ley it  had  been,  in  more  ways  than  one,  tributary  to  the  city  on  the 
St.  Croix,  which  was  itself  laid  out  by  Mr.  McKusick,  who  took  an 
active  part  in  the  work  of  relief,  and  was  very  energetic  in  all  that 
had  to  do  with  collecting  help  for  the  men,  women  and  children  in 
Pine  county  in  their  awful  calamity.  Mr.  Isaac  Staples  knew  Hinck- 
ley well  and  had  been  long  interested  in  business  with  the  burned 
district  in  various  ways.  Judge  Nethaway  had  been,  if  not  in  fasts, 
in  many  a  feast  at  Hinckley,  had  told  the  people  good  stories  often, 
and  roused  them  to  better  thinking,  and  higher  living  by  his  elo- 
quence ;  he  was  a  well  known  man  at  the  Lumber  City  of  Pine  county. 
When  the  fire  came  and  laid  it  waste  he  was  soon  on  hand  to  help; 
day  and  night  he  gave  his  aid  and  direction,  found  the  dead  and 
helped  the  bereaved,  with  a  tenderness,  the  recital  of  which,  eight 
months  after,  brought  tears  to  the  eyes  of  many  men  at  a  meeting 
to  open  the  new  town  hall. 


3G6  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

Stillwater  shares  the  honor  of  duty  nobly  done,  and  no  story  of 
work  for  those  who  suffered  loss  by  fire  in  the  burnt  district  would 
be  complete  which  did  not  tell  of  what  its  citizens  and  their  com- 
mittee did.  The  Gazette  newspaper  furnished  the  writer  the  report 
of  what  was  done,  and  is  the  sponsor  for  its  correctness. 

Mr.  Byron  J.  Mosier,  chairman  of  the  relief  committee,  and  many 
others,  visited  Hinckley  and  the  places  to  which  the  help  was  sent 
often,  and  have  kept  an  intelligent  view  of  all  that  was  being  done 
and  of  what  needed  to  be  done,  from  first  to  last.  At  the  dedica- 
tion of  the  new  town  hall  in  Hinckley  Judge  Xethaway  was  one  of 
the  speakers,  and  the  following  gentlemen  represented  Stillwater  as 
delegates:  Byron  J.  Moshier,  Hiram  T.  Kiag,  Albert  J.  Lam- 
mers,  Nicholas  A.  Xelson  and  Judge  John  C.  Xethaway. 

J.  C.  XETHAWAY. 

On  arriving  in  St.  Paul  from  the  West,  Sunday  morning,  Sep- 
tember second,  1894,  I  first  heard  of  the  terrible  fire  at  Hinckley, 
and  immediately  made  arrangements  to  go  up  to  the  relief  of  the 
sufferers.  I  took  the  first  train  to  White  Bear,  where  I  was  in 
hopes  I  could  get  aboard  a  train  going  to  the  relief  of  the  people. 
This  I  was  unable  to  do,  and  did  not  leave  White  Bear  until  the 
relief  train  arrived  from  St.  Paul.  After  experiencing  a  rather  wild 
ride  we  arrived  at  Pine  City,  where  we  were  met  by  the  local  relief 
committee,  who  very  briefly  laid  the  condition  of  affairs  before  the 
party.  I  continued  on  to  Hinckley,  arriving  there  about  8:30  Sun- 
day night,  and  there  beheld  sights  which  would  make  the  strongest 
man  shudder.  The  dead  were  lying  about  in  heaps;  mothers  still 
embracing  their  babies  were  burned  to  a  crisp  and  lying  promis- 
cuously about  upon  the  ground. 

With  the  aid  of  lanterns  we  immediately  set  about  to  find  and  re- 
lieve any  who  might  still  be  living,  but  sad  to  say,  not  a  living  thing 
did  we  see  in  our  movements  about  that  devastated  place.  Xot  a 
living  thing  greeted  the  rays  of  the  lanterns,  but  upon  every  side 
were  the  dead  burned  to  a  crisp;  men,  women  and  children;  dogs, 
cats,  cows,  horses  and  fowls  all  lying  where  the  terrible  fire  struck 
them  down. 

On  Monday  morning,  through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Miller,  of  the 
St.  Paul  and  Duluth  Railway  Co.,  I  procured  a  hand  car,  and  load- 
ing it  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  loaves  of  bread,  two  boxes  of 
canned  meat,  some  tea,  coffee,  cups  and  necessary  utensils,  and  in- 
gredients for  a  good  cup  of  coffee,  in  company  with  J.  D.  Mark- 


MIXXESOTA.  FOREST  FIRES.  367 

ham,  of  Rush  City,  Joseph  Muckenhauser,  of  White  Bear,  and  three 
other  gentlemen  whose  names  I  am  now  unable  to  recall,  started 
for  Sandstone  to  relieve  the  people,  who,  we  had  been  informed, 
were  sufrring  for  the  want  of  food.  Our  route  was  north  on  the 
St.  Paul  and  Duluth  Railway  to  a  station  called  Miller;  thence  east 
to  Sandstone  over  a  branch  of  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  Railway. 
We  experienced  difficulty  in  reaching  Miller,  being  compelled  to 
earn-  our  load  and  hand  car  across  several  burned  culverts  and 
bridges,  and  many  places  in  the  track  wrere  curved,  through  the  ef- 
fects of  the  heat. 

When  we  arrived  near  Sandstone  Junction  we  met  the  work  train 
from  Duluth  and  learned  that  the  people  at  Sandstone  had  been 
reached  and  relieved  by  a  party  from  Duluth,  who  had  come  down 
the  Eastern  Minnesota  Railroad  to  a  station  called  Partridge,  and 
walked  from  there  to  Sandstone.  I  then,  in  company  with  two  oth- 
ers, took  a  westerly  course,  carefully  examining  the  country  as  wre 
proceeded  in  order  to  find  the  dead  and  living,  if  any.  We  had 
some  bologna  sausage  and  crackers  with  us;  also  a  tin  cup.  Space 
will  not  permit  a  detailed  statement  of  what  occurred  on  that  trip; 
suffice  it  to  say  that  we  continued  on  to  Grindstone  Lake,  where 
we  spent  our  first  night. 

The  country  between  Sandstone  Junction  and  Grindstone  Lake 
was  completely  burned  over,  and  along  our  path  we  found  dead 
squirrels,  rabbits,  pleasants,  deer  and  other  wild  game.  The  next 
morning  we  worked  our  way  southeasterly,  reaching  Hinckley  the 
next  night.  As  an  illustration  of  some  of  the  sights  wiiich  met  our 
eyes  on  that  trip,  I  would  speak  of  one  instance  in  particular.  While 
working  our  way  west  to  Grindstone  Lake,  we  came  upon  the  ruins 
of  a  once  happy  home,  the  house  being  completely  destroyed.  We 
immediately  set  about  examining  the  grounds  to  find  any  dead  or 
living,  and  upon  looking  into  the  cellar  we  saw  a  sight  that  brought 
tears  to  our  eyes.  Embraced  in  each  other's  arms  were,  as  we  after- 
ward learned,  husband  and  wife,  and  beside  them  two  other  female 
bodies  and  a  little  baby,  with  its  outstretched  arms,  protruding 
tongue,  and  agonizing  expression,  was  lying  near  its  mother  who, 
from  all  indications,  had  attempted  to  save  it  from  the  flames  by 
the  aid  of  a  shawl,  which,  while  burned  to  a  crisp,  still  retained  its 
character.  This  is  but  one  of  the  many  horrible  sights  I  saw  in 
those  two  day 

On  mv  return  to  Hincklev  I  assisted  in  the  burving  t)f  the  dead 


3G8  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

and  went  out  with  parties  to  bury  where  found,  or  bring  in  those 
who  had  been  found,  for  burial  at  the  cemetery  east  of  Hinckley. 
One  case  in  particular  was  the  finding  of  the  body  of  John  Ross, 
who  resided  in  St.  Paul. 

We  found  his  body  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  east  of  Fin- 
layson  and  with  the  aid  of  a  blanket  brought  it  to  Finlayson,  there 
placed  it  in  a  rough  box  and  took  it  to  Hinckley,  where  it  was  re- 
ceived by  friends,  and  as  I  learned  afterwards,  taken  to  Eau  Claire 
for  burial.  I  was  also  with  a  party  who  found  Air.  Rowley's  body. 
I  did  not  know  him  and  afterwards  learned  that  he  was  the  auditor 
of  the  Duluth  and  Winnipeg  Railroad  Company. 

I  spent  twelve  days  at  Hinckley  and  vicinity  and  while  I  would  be 
willing  to  again  help  any  in  distress  and  suffering,  I  nevertheless 
hope  another  such  mission  does  not  await  me. 

Many  of  the  people  in  Stilhvater  had  large  interests  in  and  around 
Hinckley.  For  many  years  Pine  City  and  counties  adjacent  had 
lived  settlers  from  this  place  and  as  Stillwater  is  essentially  a  lum- 
bering town,  the  sympathies  of  our  people  were  deeply  stirred  when 
news  of  the  disaster  came  and  all  was  done  that  was  possible  in 
the  circumstances  to  do  for  the  sufferers. 

STILLWATER  RELIEF  COMMITTEE. 

The  committee  of  H.  T.  King,  B.  J.  Mosier,  J.  T.  Barren,  J.  J. 
Robertson  and  E.  W.  Durant,  appointed  to  receive  and  dispense  aid 
to  the  sufferers  of  the  terrible  forest  fires  that  swept  over  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  state  about  two  months  ago,  gave  a  Gazette  reporter 
the  following  interesting  statement  of  the  contributions  and  their 
disposal: 

R.  W.  Turnbull,  3  cars  lumber,  $275;  R.  W.  Turnbull,  horses, 
wagon  and  harness,  $325;  Charles  Conhaim,  clothing,  $100;  A.  G. 
Schuttinger,  merchandise,  $50;  Isaac  Staples,  one  car  flour,  $300; 
Schulenburg  &  Boeckeler,  boots  and  shoes,  $50;  Stillwater  Hardware 
Co.,  hardware,  $100;  Simonet  Brothers,  merchandise,  $50;  Elmore 
Lowell,  bedding,  $25;  F.  Garen,  furniture,  $50;  Standard  Clothing 
Co.,  merchandise,  $25;  Alex  Johnson,  merchandise,  $50;  L.  Alben- 
berg,  and  L.  Albenburg  &  Co.,  merchandise,  $175;  R.  M.  Coles,  two 
cows,  $60;  J.  O.  Holen  &  Co.,  groceries,  $25;  F.  W.  Schendel,  shoes, 
$10 ;  Thoe.  Jassoy  &  Sons,  blankets,  $35;  Zeigler  Brothers,  merchan- 
dise, $25.  Total,  $1,730. 

Aside  from  this  the  citizens  contributed  clothing  amounting  to  at 


MISXESOTA   FOREST  FIRES.  369 

least  $1,500  in  value.  This  was  a  generous  and  spontaneous  out- 
pouring from  every  part  of  the  city.  Oak  Park  and  South  Stillwater, 
and  was  indeed  timely.  Added  to  this,  the  cash  subscriptions, 
amounting  to  $2,697.20,  makes  up  the  very  respectable  total  of  about 
$5,930,  contributed  by  Stilhvater  and  vicinity.  Following  is  a  state- 
ment of  the  cash  contributions: 

A.  T.  Jenks,  $50;  M.  H.  Bromley,  $i;  T.  Donovan,  $10;  W.  J. 
Stein,  $3;  F.  W.  Durant,  $50;  Aug.  Booth,  $3;  Otis  Staples,  $25; 
Aug.  Booren,  $10;  Peter  Jourdain,  $5;  D.  L.  Burlingham,  $5;  J. 
J.  Robertson,  $10;  Chas.  Swanson,  $3;  Stilhvater  Mfg.  Co.,  $10; 
Andrew  Severson,  $5;  Joseph  Wolf,  $50;  Merrill  &  Clark,  $10;  Frank 
Withrow,  $5;  E.  C.  Holmes,  $5;  Jas.  G.  Foley,  $5;  F.  J.  R.  Aiple,. 
$25;  Samuel  Bloomer,  $15;  McSweeney,  $3;  Chas.  A.  Staples,  $5;: 
E.  Flynn,  $5;  Jerry  Collins,  $5;  Fred  Wolf,  $2;  A.  W.  Pattee,  $5; 
Jas.  Hanson,  $5;  First  Xat.  Bank,  $100;  Ed.  O'Brien,  $5;  F.  B. 
Yates,  $10;  J.  B.  Taft,  $5;  C.  M.  McCluer,  $25;  J.  C  Zietler,  $2; 
R.  H.  Bronson,  $10;  Adolph  Peterson,  $i ;  H.  H.  Gillen,  $5;  J.  H. 
Pratt,  $i;  David  Swank,  $5;  A.  C.  Hafer,  $2;  John  O.  Anderson, 
$10;  C.  E.  Connors,  $2;  M.  Johnson,  $5;  John  Marcusen,  $i;  Schul- 
enberg  &  B.  L.  Co.,  $50;  James  Roney,  $20;  Linder  &  Erickson,  $3;, 
Milage  of  South  Stillvvater,  $50;  John  Goodrich,  $2;  C.  O.  Burn- 
ham,  $5;  E.  N.  Swanson,  $2;  J.  B.  Xorthey,  $2;  J.  W.  Wheeler,  $10:. 
W.  H.  Pratt,  M.  D.,  $2;  F.  W.  McGray,  $5;  John  Thornquist,  $2; 
Mrs.  F.  W.  McGray,  $2;  Levi  Thompson,  $2;  J.  F.  Burke,  $10;  J. 
M.  Schafer,  $3;  L.  H.  Seymour,  $5;  Ed.  Masterman,  $i;  D.  J.  Sul- 
livan, $5;  Mart  McPheters,  $5;  Phil.  McDermott,  $10;  Gust  Ekblad, 
$i;  A.  Marty,  $5;  Chas.  Heitman,  $5;  Lady  from  Maine  by  Mrs. 
Treat,  $2;  A.  Brocious,  $i;  Mackinhausen  &  Lustig,  $5;  A.  G.  Tric- 
bel,  $5;  Theo.  Jassoy,  $10;  Hugh  McKinsie,  $2;  East  Side  L.  Co., 
$150;  Alb.  Drewke,  $i;  Bronson  &  Folsom,  $50;  D.  McDermott, 
$i;  F.  W.  Gail,  $5;  Scully  &  Tracy,  $5;  Gazette  Ptg.  Co.,  $10;  Hills- 
kotter  &  Kelm,  $2 ;  J.  A.  O'Shaughnessy,  $5 ;  Fitzgerald  &  Dyson,  $5 ; 
C.  E.  Mosier,  $5 ;  J.  W.  Foley,  $5 ;  O.  J.  Olson,  $2 ;  M.  L.  Murphy,  $5 ; 
Aug.  Loeber,  $i ;  King  Bros.,  $15 ;  Wm.  Evans,  $i ;  B.  I.  Mosier,  $15 ; 
Geo.  Erickson,  $i;  J.  T.  Barron,  $5;  Frank  Swanson,  $i ;  J.  J.  Eich- 
ten,  $15;  Paul  Hanson,  $2;  John  McKusick,  $100;  P.  J.  Stenstrom, 
$i;  G.  W.  Smith,  $5;  B.  F.  Rice,  $i;  L.  F.  Collins,  $5;  J.  P.  Han- 
son, $2;  Myron  Shepard,  $5;  C.  W.  Merry,  $5;  St.  Croix  Drug  Co., 
$25;  Saul  Stein,  $i ;  M.  A.  Thon.  $5:  Peter  Blad,  $i ;  Mulvey  & 
Carmichael,  $100;  Wm.  Bain,  $i ;  Herman  Apman,  $i ;  C.  H.  Browne^ 


370 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


EDITOR  ELMQUIST,  RUSH_CITY. 


J.  THOMPSON,  MORA. 


B.  J.  MOSIER. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  371 

$5;  Ed.  Welsch,  $i;  St.  Croix  L.  Co.,  $200;  Wm.  English,  $i;  Fred 
Pennington,  $30;  Henry  Daily,  $i;  Florence  Mill  Co.,  $15;  Patrick 
Barrett,  $i;  C.  T.  Goodrich,  $5;  Henry  Stussi,  $i;  Jas.  Mathews, 
$5;  George  McCharty,  $i ;  R.  W.  McGarry,  $5;  A.  J.  Collins,  $5; 
H.  Koesters,  $5;  Elis  Bergund,  $i ;  F.  E.  Joy  &  Co.,  $5;  Aug.  Peter- 
son, $i;  B.  B.  Smith,  $3;  John  Albin,  $i;  G.  H.  Sullivan,  $5;  Alfred 
Johnson,  $i;  J.  C.  Nethaway,  $5;  C.  D.  Anderson,  $i;  Tozer,  Mc- 
Clure  &  Co.,  $150;  Dr.  C.  B.  Marshall,  $25;  Maurice  Clancy,  $5; 
T.  H.  Warren,  $10;  Mrs.  Mary  Hefti,  $i ;  Fred  Scott,  $5;  Thos. 
J.  Welch,  $i;  F.  L.  Grace  &  Co.,  $5;  Thos.  Morrisey,  $i ;  H.  L. 
Foster,  $5;  John  Erig,  $i;  P.  S.  Deragisch,  $5;  E.  G.  Foster,  $i; 
F.  Pennington  &  Co.,  $20;  J.  M.  Kuhn,  $5;  J.  H.  Griffin,  $i ;  J. 
A.  McDermott,  $5;  H.  B.  Prince,  $2;  Minn.  Mercantile  Co.,  $150; 
J.  M.  Lupien,  $i ;  Mrs.  Jno.  Hoy,  $5;  Hershey  Lumber  Co.,  $50; 
Rudolph  Lehmicke,  $5;  Jno.  Roney,  $i ;  Joseph  Schupp,  $20;  Mrs. 
Jno.  Roney,  $i ;  H.  Heisel  &  Co.,  $25;  Nat  Roney,  $i ;  H.  J.  Mc- 
Kusick,  $10;  Alfred  Roney,  $i ;  Leonard  Clark,  $10;  Herb  Roney, 
$i;  Alex.  Richard,  $5;  Pat  Murphy,  $5;  C.  Henningsen,  $10;  A.  H. 
Drake,  $i ;  Albert  Wilson,  $5;  J.  A.  Deragisch,  $5;  A.  M.  Phoenix, 
$3;  Abner  Brotherton,  $3;  John  G.  Nelson,  $15;  Wm.  H.  Hewitt, 
$5 ;  D.  A.  Blakeney,  $5 ;  W.  L.  Prince,  $2 ;  W.  F.  Mackey,  $5 ;  Mrs. 
P.  Lund,  $i;  Eagle  Hardware  Co.,  $5;  A.  P.  Nehring,  $i ;  Fr.  Frey- 
nieller,  $i ;  R.  S.  Davis,  $5;  X.  A.  McKay,  $5;  Wm.  Sauntry,  $200; 
P.  Laviolett,  $i ;  F.  Kirchoff,  $3;  A.  Parson,  $i;  A.  T.  Lindholm, 
$5;  Third  Ward  Committee,  $5;  E.  Grant,  $5;  McLaughlin  &  Kilty, 
$5;  D.  A.  Masterman,  $i ;  Geo.  A.  Lammers,  $5;  J.  Ceaser,  $5;  John 
O'Brien,  $25;  A.  Rhorbach,  $15;  H.  Voligny,  $5;  E.  A.  Phinney, 
$3;  A.  J.  Holm,  $3;  Oak  Park  Citizens,  $89.45;  Thos.  Dunn,  $1.50; 
C.  H.  Cannon,  $2.50;  A.  R.  Campbell,  50  cents;  Wm.  Foley,  50 
cents ;  John  Wallis,  50  cents ;  P.  C.  Peterson,  50  cents ;  Fritz  Gramenz, 
50  cents;  Richard  Doran,  50  cents;  James  Blay,  50  cents;  Arthur 
W.  Doran,  50  cents;  Nels  Danelson,  50  cents;  John  Peterson,  25 
cents;  Anton  Carlson,  30  cents;  John  Munson,  50  cents;  Mrs.  Geo. 
Flinchy,  35  cents;  Mrs.  M.  Dawson,  50  cents;  Mrs.  Andrew  Kearney, 
80  cents;  A.  E.  Howden,  50  cents;  F.  Holmblad,  10  cents;  D.  Holm- 
blad,  25  cents;  Mrs.  Mcllree,  50  cents;  Scandia  by  F.  J.  Lake,  $67.20. 
Total,  $2,697.20. 

The  committee  has  sent  the  following  relief:  One  car  flour  to 
Pine  City;  five  cars  of  lumber,  three  to  Hinckley,  one  to  North 
Branch,  and  one  to  Pokegama;  one  car  of  provisions,  regular  lum- 


372  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

bermen's  supplies,  to  Pine  City;  one  carload  of  clothing-  to  Pine 
City;  one  car  of  hardware,  stoves,  etc.,  for  Hinckley  and  Pokegama; 
team,  harness  and  wagon  to  Nels  Henry  at  Hinckley;  55  sacks  of 
flour  to  Hinckley  and  Pine  City,  and  $375  in  cash  to  those  two 
places. 

The  committee  still  has  remaining  on  hand  about  $1,300  which 
will  be  expended  along  during  the  fall  and  winter  to  relieve  the 
fire  sufferers.  Every  few  days  moneys  or  provisions  are  sent  up 
and  their  distribution,  superintended  by  Messrs.  Fred  Hodge  and 
James  Hurley,  of  Pine  City,  and  Dug  Greeley,  of  Hinckley,  brings 
joy  to  many  a  disheartened  settler  who  is  trying  to  rebuild  his  little 
home.  These  three  gentlemen  just  named  have  the  thanks  of  our 
local  committee  for  their  kind  assistance  and  painstaking  efforts  to 
see  that  only  deserving  ones,  the  sufferers  themselves,  should  re- 
ceive the  aid. 

Of  our  local  committee  and  its  work  too  much  cannot  be  said. 
Messrs.  King,  Mosier,  Barren,  Robertson  and  Durant  have  devoted 
a  large  portion  of  their  time  the  past  seven  or  eight  weeks  to  this 
charitable  work  and  paying  their  own  traveling  expenses  ungrudg- 
ingly. 

They  carried  into  the  work  an  enthusiasm  that  was  infectious  and 
which  had  much  to  do  with  the  very  satisfactory  success  attending 
their  labors. 


MANKATO. 


T*  HIS  town  is  situated  on  the  Minnesota  river  and  is  blessed  with 
many  great  advantages,  which  a  bountiful  God  has  placed  with- 
in its  reach.  It  is  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state,  adjacent  to  it  is 
one  of  the  best  farming  countries  in  the  West  and  one  which  has  felt 
the  hard  times  in  1893  four  and  five  less,  perhaps,  than  any  part  of 
America.  Mankato  is  a  great  railway  center  and  has  a  State  Normal 
School  and  is  well  supplied  with  public  institutions  for  the  culti- 
vation of  man  in  his  higher  nature.  The  annexed  report  has  been 
sent  to  me  which  tells  part  of  what  was  done.  No  doubt  much  was 
given  in  other  ways,  of  which  no  record  has  been  furnished. 

On  the  news  of  the  terrible  conflagration  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  state  last  summer  the  sympathy  of  the  Mankatoans  was  stirred 
to  have  a  hand  in  the  relief.  It  was  accomplished  as  follows: 

Fully  fifty  business  men  met  at  the  Board  of  Trade  in  response 
to  a  public  call  of  all  citizens.  Judge  Daniel  Buck,  of  the  supreme 
court,  was  elected  chairman,  County  Attorney  Benedict,  secretary. 
The  result  of  the  meeting  was  the  appointment  of  the  following  com- 
mittee to  canvass  the  city  for  funds:  Geo.  H.  Clark,  E.  M.  Pope, 
Robert  Roberts,  W.  N.  Pyymat,  Rev.  Lee  W.  Beattie,  J.  C.  Theo, 
J.  F.  Fowler,  John  Klein,  Leo  Laurn,  J.  C.  Noe,  Dr.  J.  W.  An- 
drews, F.  R.  Coughlan.  The  following  resolution  offered  by  Sen- 
ator Barr  was  passed: 

Resolved,  That  the  committee  be  authorized  to  solicit  aid  in 
money,  provisions  and  other  articles,  and  that  the  committee  have 
full  power  to  use  each  subscription  in  any  direction  or  channel  they 
think  proper. 

The  committee  met  the  next  day.  Rev.  Lee  W.  Beattie  was 
elected  chairman,  Geo.  H.  Clark  secretary  and  treasurer.  A  gen- 
eral call  was  issued  to  all  residents  of  this  county  and  vicinity  to 
make  such  donations  as  they  could.  Various  churches  were  asked 
to  take  up  a  collection.  Every  church  responded  with  a  laudable 

373 


374 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  375 

contribution.  The  committee  was  subdivided  into  smaller  commit- 
tees to  canvass  each  ward  of  the  city,  and  the  normal  and  public 
schools.  By  this  systematic  way  everyone  was  given  an  opportunity 
to  contribute.  Through  a  committee  of  ladies,  an  additional  amount 
was  raised  by  an  entertainment  in  the  Opera  House,  under  the  man- 
agement of  Mesdames  L.  P.  Hunt  and  W.  Craig.  The  young  peo- 
ple from  St.  Clair  township  gave  a  benefit  sending  in  twenty  dollars 
as  the  proceeds. 

The  total  amount  received  was  as  follows: 

Church  collection  and  city  canvass $  866. 13 

Farmers,  cash 8.03 

Farmers,  wheat  sold  by  committee J7-23 

Ladies  of  St.  Clair 20.00 

Opera  House  benefit 120.00 

Total    $1,031.38 

R.  D.  Hubbard  forty  sacks  of  flour,  other  parties  supplies  of  lard, 
flour,  clothing,  furniture  to  quite  an  extent. 

The  state  committee  notifying  us  they  needed  lumber,  pork  and 
flour  and  all  other  articles  that  could  be  turned  into  cash  were  sent 
to  it.  The  old  clothing  and  furniture  was  disposed  of  to  the  city 
relief  societies,  the  committee  not  being  able  to  use  them.  With 
some  of  this  a  large  quantity  of  pork  was  procured  and  shipped  to 
Hinckley.  All  the  amount  was  four  hundred  dollars  and  was  sent 
to  the  treasurer  of  the  committee.  The  four  hundred  dollars  was 
retained  for  the  following  purpose:  The  committee  was  requested 
to  take  an  unfortunate  widow  and  two  children,  whose  husband  and 
father  had  fallen  a  victim  to  the  flames.  They  were  Mrs.  Strum  and 
two  children,  one  four  years  old  and  the  other  two.  Mrs.  Strum 
is  a  Swede  and  was,  with  her  children,  placed  by  the  committee  un- 
der the  charge  of  a  special  committee  of  Robert  Roberts  and  Mrs- 
dames  Klein  and  Crowly,  who  secured  a  comfortable  suite  of  rooms 
on  Fourth  street,  where  she  has  been  carefully  provided  for  with 
all  the  necessaries  of  life.  The  committee's  idea  is  to  open  the  way 
in  the  spring  for  Mrs.  Struni  to  become  self  supporting. 


376 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


HENRY  IRVING. 


LEGISLATION. 


ST.  PAUL,  MINN.,  April  t.  1895. 

Dear  Sir:— Hon.  Mr.  Mallette  requested  me  to  give  you  some  in- 
formation with  reference  to  the  legislation  for  the  relief  of  the  fire 
sufferers. 

At  the  opening  of  the  session  a  special  committee  was  appointed, 
consisting  of  Hon.  J.  T.  Wyman,  Hon.  F.  A.  Hodge,  Hon.  J.  Q. 
Cronkhite,  together  with  Hon.  O.  O.  Holman,  H.  R.  Mallette,  Hon. 
A.  J.  Anderson,  Hon.  C.  F.  Staples. 

At  the  opening  of  the  session  Hon.  J.  T.  Wyman  introduced  a  bill 
into  the  senate  appropriating  $20,000  for  the  purpose  of  reimbursing 
the  members  of  the  State  Relief  Commission  for  $15,000  advanced 
by  them  for  the  further  purpose  of  affording  temporary  relief  until 
the  legislature  should  decide  what,  if  anything,  further  should  be 
done.  This  bill  passed  both  houses  of  the  legislature  and  was  signed 
by  the  governor. 

The  joint  committee  of  both  houses  visited  the  burned  district  on 
April  2nd,  1895,  and  upon  their  return  submitted  the  following  re- 
port: 

REPORTS  OF  SELECT  COMMITTEES. 

By  unanimous  consent  Mr.  Wyman,  from  the  select  committee  on 
fire  relief,  submitted  the  following  report  and  recommendations: 
To  the  Senate  of  the  State  of  Minnesota: 

The  joint  committee  of  the  Senate  and  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives appointed  to  investigate  the  condition  of  the  sufferers  by  forest 
fires  in  Pine  and  adjacent  counties  and  report  what  further  relief, 
if  any,  needed,  would  report  as  follows: 

Your  committee  finds  that  the  Minnesota  State  Commission  for 
the  relief  of  fire  sufferers  has,  up  to  April  2,  1895,  received  the  fol- 
lowing contributions,  to  be  expended  under  its  direction: 


378  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

Cash  donations  from  foreign  countries $11,600.00 

Cash   donations   from   United   States,   except 

Minnesota   I4>7:  J  •  19 

Cash  donations  from  Minnesota •    7°*  776 -45 

Total  cash  donations  .$97,087.64  $  97,087 . 64 

Proceeds  of  sales  of  building  material,  etc —  2,027  •  24 

Appropriations  by  Legislature,  drawn  Janu- 

uary  28,  1895 20,000 .  oo 

Total  cash  receipts  $119,114.88 

Lumber,  etc.  donated 10,700.00 

Clothing  donated    25,000 .00 

Free  railroad  transportation  (estimated)  ....  13,000.00 

Total  receipts  $167,814.88 

The  disbursements  of  the  commission  up  to  April  2,  1895,  were 
as  follows: 

Allowance  to  individual  fire  sufferers $  23,204.61 

Cost  of  215  buildings  erected 35,322.38 

Outfittings    22,238 .61 

Temporary  relief 14,848.42 

Miscellaneous  disbursements    4,073.20 

Unclassified  disbursements  since  January  i, 

1895    10,782.86 

Administration  expenses;  salaries  of  agents 
clerks,  storekeepers,  warehouse  employes, 
and  expenses  of  delivery  teams  from  Sep- 
tember 5,  1894,  to  April  2,  1895 6,41 1.51 

Total  cash  disbursements  $116,881 .59  $116,881 .59 

Lumber,  etc.,  donated 10,700.00 

Clothing  donated,  handled  through  ware- 
houses in  St.  Paul,  Hinckley,  Sandstone 

and  Duluth 25,000.00 

Free  railroad  transportation  obtained  by 
the  commissioners  for  fire  sufferers,  esti- 
mated    13,000.00 

Total  relief  rendered  by  the  commission.  .  ..  $165,581 .59 

April  2,  1895, "  $2,233.29 

February  i3th,  1895,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Ferris  introduced  a  bill  for 
an  act  to  furnish  grass  seed  for  the  benefit  of  the  sufferers  by  forest 
fires,  and  appropriating  $15,000  for  that  purpose.  This  bill  was  dulv 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  379 

passed  March  I4th,  1895,  an(^  tlie  seecl  was  furnished  in  accordance 
with  the  provision  of  the  act.  The  amount  appropriated  to  the  sev- 
eral counties  was  as  follows: 

Pine    $4,615.00 

Morrison     2,754.00 

Mille  Lacs   i,374-°° 

Todd    1,383.00 

Crow  Wing 806.00 

Cass    398.00 

Aitkin    1,226.00 

Carlton 679.00 

Becker   180.00 

Wadena   347-QO 

Kanebec    860.00 

Otter  Tail 300.00 

Benton 78.00 

Total    T $15.000.00 

In  the  general  appropriation  bill  there  was  included  an  amount  of 
$10,000  for  the  further  assistance  of  fire  sufferers,  for  the  purchase  of 
seed  potatoes,  seed  corn,  and  other  necessary  relief. 

Yours  truly, 

H.  H.'HART, 

Secretary  State  Commission. 

Your  committee  visited  the  towns  of  Sandstone,  Hinckley,  Pokeg- 
ama,  Mora  and  Milaca,  and  so  far  as  possible  conferred  with  the 
local  authorities  and  relief  committees  in  those  towns,  and  also  with 
many  of  the  fire  sufferers,  and  all  seem  to  unite  in  the  statement  that 
further  help  is  needed  for  the  people  in  the  burned  district  in  the 
way  of  farming  utensils  and  seeds  for  spring  sowing,  especially  pota- 
toes and  garden  seeds. 

By  request  of  the  Minnesota  State  Commission  for  the  relief  of  fire 
sufferers  your  committee  edited  the  commission's  accounts  and 
found  them  correctly  kept,  and  also  found  that  the  funds  committed 
to  its  care  had  been  wisely  applied  to  the  needs  of  the  people. 

The  work  of  the  commission  has  up  to  this  date  been,  done  well. 
The  cost  of  administration  up  to  April  2,  1895,  being  only  3  9-10  per 
cent,  of  the  receipts,  which  your  committee  regards  as  a  very  small 
percentage  of  cost,  taking  into  consideration  the  amount  of  work  per- 
formed covering  a  period  of  five  months.  It  will  be  necessary  for 


380  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


LADY  DONALD  A.  SMITH. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  381 

the  commission  to  continue  its  work  until  the  first  of  May,  and  there- 
after people  in  the  afflicted  districts  should  be  left  to  their  own  re- 
sources. 

In  view  of  the  work  yet  to  be  performed  by  the  commission  to  re- 
lieve the  wants  of  the  fire  sufferers  and  to  supply  seeds  for  spring 
sowing,  farming-  utensils,  etc.,  your  committee  would  recommend 
that  a  further  appropriation  of  ten  thousand  dollars  ($10,000)  be 
inserted  in  the  general  appropriation  bill  for  the  relief  of  the  sufferers 
by  forest  fires  in  Pine  and  adjacent  counties,  said  appropriation  to 
be  payable  to  the  order  of  the  chairman  of  the  Minnesota  State  Com- 
mission for  the  relief  of  the  fire  sufferers. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

"j.  T.  WYMAN, 
FRED  A.  HODGE, 
J.  Q.  CROXKHITE, 

On  the  part  of  the  Senate. 
O.  O.  HOLMAX, 
H.  R.  MALLETTE, 
AUG.  J.  AXDERSOX, 
C.  F.  STAPLES, 
On  the  part  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

BILL  TO  FURNISH  GRASS  SEED  FOR  DISTRIBUTION. 

Section  I.  That  the  sum  of  fifteen  thousand  ($15,000)  dollars,  be, 
and  the  same  is  hereby  appropriated  out  of  any  moneys  in  the  state 
treasury,  not  otherwise  appropriated,  for  the  purpose  of  this  act 

Sec.  2.  It  is  hereby  made  the  duty  of  the  county  auditors  of  the 
counties  afflicted  by  forest  fires,  in  the  state  of  Minnesota,  wherein 
the  grass  and  meadows  were  partially  or  wholly  destroyed  by  forest 
fires  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety-four  (1894), 
to  give  notice  before  the  tenth  (loth)  day  of  March,  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  ninety-five  (1895),  to  the  respective  town  clerks 
of  the  several  towns  in  said  counties,  requiring  them  to  post  notices- 
immediately  in  at  least  three  of  the  most  public  places  in  each  town, 
notifying  all  persons  wishing  to  avail  themselves  of  the  benefits  of 
this  act,  to  meet  at  the  town  clerk's  office  and  file  with  the  said  towrn 
clerk  on  or  before  the  25th  day  of  March,  one  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred and  ninety-five  (1895),  an  application  duly  subscribed  and  sworn 
to  by  the  applicant  before  said  town  clerk  or  other  officer  author- 
ized to  administer  oath ;  provided,  that  in  districts  not  organized  into 


382  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIREZ. 

towns,  the  said  county  auditor  shall  cause  such  notice  to  be  posted  in 
such  unorganized  district  at  such  places  as  he  shall  deem  neces- 
sary. 

And,  provided  further,  that  the  notice  herein  provided  for  shall 
also  be  published  one  week  prior  to  the  25th  day  of  March,  1895,  in 
the  official  paper  of  said  county. 

Sec.  3.  The  application  provided  for  in  the  preceding  section  shall 
contain  a  true  statement  of  the  number  of  acres  of  meadow  owned  or 
controlled  by  such  applicant  upon  which  the  grass  and  grassroots  were 
destroyed  by  said  forest  fires  during  the  season  of  1894;  and  how  many 
acres  of  said  medow  said  applicant  intends  and  desires  to  re-seed  dur- 
ing the  season  of  1895. 

Such  application  shall  further  state  the  amount  of  hay  harvested 
from  said  meadow  annually,  prior  to  the  year  of  1894,  and  the 
amount  and  kind  of  grass  seed  necessary  to  re-seed  said  meadow 
and  the  amount  that  said  applicant  desires  to  obtain  from  the  state 
under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  that  said  applicant  has  not 
procured  and  is  not  able  to  procure  the  necessary  grass  to  re-seed 
said  meadows  so  desired  to  be  re-seeded,  and  that  he  desires  said 
grass  seed  for  no  other  purpose  whatever,  and  that  he  will  not  sell  or 
otherwise  dispose  of  the  same  or  any  part  thereof. 

Said  application  shall  also  contain  a  full  and  true  description  of  all 
real  and  personal  property  owned  by  the  applicant  and  the  incum- 
brances,  if  any,  thereon;  and  a  full  description  by  government  sub- 
divisions of  the  lands  upon  which  the  applicant  intends  to  sow  said 
grass  seed. 

Sec.  4.  The  town  clerk  of  each  town  shall,  on  or  before  the  25th 
day  of  March,  1895,  forward  all  applications  made  before  him  to  said 
county  auditor  of  his  county,  who  shall  file  the  same  in  his  office,  and 
all  applications  by  persons  residing  in  any  unorganized  district  shall, 
on  or  before  the  25th  day  of  March,  1895,  file  said  application  in  the 
office  of  said  county  auditor. 

All  applications  filed  in  any  county  auditor's  office,  under  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act,  shall  be  open  to  public  inspection,  and  no  ap- 
plication shall  be  considered  by  the  board  provided  for  in  section 
five  of  this  act,  except  such  as  have  been  duly  made  and  filed  within 
the  time  and  manner  hereinbefore  provided  for. 

Sec.  5.  The  board  of  county  commissioners  of  each  county  where 
the  provisions  of  this  act  are  applicable  shall  be  and  are  hereby  con- 
stituted and  appointed  a  board  of  examination  and  adjustment  of  t'.vj 


MINNESOTA.  FOBEST  FIRES.  383 

applications  for  grass  seed  under  this  act,  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of 
said  board  to  meet  at  the  county  auditor's  office  on  the  first  Monday 
in  April,  1895,  to  examine  and  consider  the  applications  that  shall 
have  been  filed  under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  to  determine  who 
are  entitled  to  the  benefits  herein  provided  for  and  the  amount  oi 
moneys  to  which  each  applicant  is  entitled.  And  said  board  shall, 
within  ten  days  thereafter,  forward  to  the  governor  of  the  state  of 
Minnesota,  a  statement  giving  the  number  of  applicants;  the  name 
of  such  applicant;  the  number  of  acres  of  meadow  upon  which  the 
grass  and  grass  roots  were  destroyed  by  said  forest  fires  in  the 
said  year  1894;  the  number  of  acres  said  applicant  desires  to  re- 
seed;  and  the  amount  and  kind  of  grass  seed  necessary  to  seed 
the  same;  and  the  amount  of  money  necessary  to  purchase  such 
seed.  Such  statement  shall  comprise  and  include  only  such  applica- 
tions as  have  been  approved  by  said  board  and  shall  be  signed  by 
the  chairman  of  said  board  of  county  commissioners  and  attested  by 
the  auditor  of  said  county;  provided,  no  applicant  shall  be  allowed 
an  amount  exceeding  the  sum  of  fifty  ($50)  dollars. 

Sec.  6.  The  governor  upon  receipt  of  the  statement  from  such 
counties,  \vho  shall  file  them  with  him  within  the  time  specified  in 
this  act,  if  the  same  shall  not  exceed  in  the  aggregate  the  sum  hereby 
appropriated  for  such  purpose,  shall  apportion  and  distribute  the 
amounts  called  for  to  the  several  counties  from  which  applications 
have  been  received,  but  if  the  amounts  applied  for  shall  exceed  in  the 
aggregate  the  amount  herein  appropriated  for  such  purpose,  then 
the  governor  shall  apportion  and  distribute  the  sum  to  the 
counties  applying  pro  rata  in  proportion  to  the  amounts  called  for 
by  said  counties  respectively,  as  shown  by  said  statement  of  the 
county  auditor  thereof,  and  thereupon  the  governor  shall  inform 
each  county  auditor  of  the  amount  so  apportioned  to  his  county, 
and  shall  authorize  the  board  of  county  commissioner  to  purchase 
grass  seeds  of  the  kinds  necessary  to  the  amount  so  apportioned  and 
cause  the  same  to  be  distributed  to  the  applicants  in  said  county,  who 
are  entitled  to  receive  the  same  under  the  provisions  of  this  act. 

It  shall  be  a  misdemeanor  for  any  county  commissioner  or  other 
officer  charged  with  any  duty  under  this  act,  to  make  any  gain  or 
profit  from  any  transaction  growing  out  of  or  connected  with  the 
operation  of  this  act. 

Sec.  7.  Immediately  upon  receiving  notice  from  the  governor  of 
the  amount  apportioned  to  their  county,  the  board  of  county  com- 


384  XIXNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

missioners  shall  meet  at  the  county  auditor's  office  and  re-adjust  the 
application  in  their  county,  if  necessary,  for  the  grass  seed,  and  ap- 
portion the  amount  that  has  been  allowed  to  the  county,  among 
the  applicants  approved  by  the  said  board  pro  rata  in  proportion  to 
the  amount  required  by  each,  if  there  shall  not  be  sufficient  grass 
seed  to  supply  all  in  full,  provided  that  after  all  approved  applications 
for  said  grass  seed  in  any  county  are  supplied,  if  there  be  a  surplus 
the  same  shall  be  sold  by  direction  of  the  board  of  county  commis- 
sioners and  the  sum  received  therefor  shall  be  turned  over  to  the 
county  treasurer  who  shall  give  his  receipt  therefor  and  the  same  shall 
be  placed  on  file  in  the  office  of  the  county  auditor  and  the  said 
sum  so  received  by  said  treasurer  shall  be  by  him  paid  over  to  the 
state  treasurer  who  shall  receipt  for  the  same  to  the  said  county 
treasurer,  and  said  sum  so  received  by  the  said  state  treasurer  shall 
be  placed  to  the  credit  of  the  general  fund  of  this  state. 

Sec.  8.  The  county  auditor  of  each  county  shall,  as  soon  as  the 
board  of  county  commissioners  shall  have  performed  the  duty  pre- 
scribed in  the  preceding  section,  issue  to  each  applicant  an  order  di- 
rected to  the  person  who  shall  be  designated  by  the  board  of  county 
commissioners  to  distribute  such  grass  seed  for  the  number  of  bush- 
els and  kind  of  grass  seed  to  which  each  applicant  shall  be  entitled, 
and  upon  presentation  of  the  same  to  the  person  so  designated  to  dis 
tribute  such  grass  seed,  he  shall  deliver  to  said  applicant  the  amount 
and  kind  of  grass  seed  named  in  such  orders.  And  such  county 
auditor  shall  keep  a  record  in  a  book  kept  for  that  purpose  to  be 
provided  at  the  expense  of  the  county,  of  the  names  to  whom  such 
orders  have  been  issued,  and  the  amount  and  kind  of  grass  seed 
specified  in  such  order. 

Sec.  9.  Any  person  or  persons  who  shall,  contrary  to  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act,  sell,  transfer,  take  or  carry  away,  or  in  any  manner 
dispose  of  the  grass  seed  or  any  part  thereof,  furnished  by  the  state 
as  provided  in  this  act,  or  who  shall  use  any  of  said  grass  seed  for 
any  other  purpose  than  of  seeding  his  meadow,  shall  be  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor  and  upon  conviction  thereof,  before  any  justice  of  the 
peace,  having  jurisdiction,  shall  pay  a  fine  of  not  less  than  ten  dollars 
nor  more  than  one  hundred  dollars,  or  be  imprisoned  in  the  county 
jail  for  a  term  of  not  exceeding  ninety  days. 

Sec.  10.  The  provisions  of  this  act  shall  apply  only  to  actual  bona 
fide  residents  of  the  county  affected  thereby. 

Sec.  II.  This  act  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force  from  and  after 
its  passage. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


'THE  following  letters  are  merely  inserted  to  show  something'  of 
the  character  of  the  work  devolving  upon  the  commission,  and 
represents  fairly  the  hundreds  received  of  like  nature: 

I  note  your  letter  requesting  information  as  to  aid  given  people 
at  Sandstone. 

If  you  will  send  us  a  list  of  the  people  whom  you  have  on  the 
ground  there,  and  of  others  as  fast  as  they  come  in,  we  will  send  you 
complete  information  as  to  what  has  been  done  for  them  by  this 
office.  Yours  truly, 

H.  H.  HART, 

I  wish  to  acknowledge  receipt  of  your  favor  of  October  i8th,  en- 
closing copy  of  a  letter  under  that  date  to  Hon.  Charles  A.  Pillsbury, 
of  Minneapolis,  giving  an  outline  of  your  work  and  the  progress 
that  had  been  made  up  to  that  time.  I  am  very  glad  to  know  that 
at  that  date  you  were  in  fairly  good  shape,  and  I  trust  that  the 
progress  which  has  been  made  since  then  has  been  so  good  that 
you  can  now  look  forward  to  at  least  the  beginning  of  the  end  of 
your  work  so  far  as  the  commission  is  concerned.  As  the  season  is 
progressing  it  is  a  satisfaction  to  know  that  these  poor  people  are 
beginning  to  be  sheltered  in  their  homes  and  that  they  will  be  pro- 
tected from  the  rude  blasts  of  the  coming  winter. 

Very  truly  yours, 

N.  G.  NORTON. 

Would  you  be  kind  enough  to  inform  me,  if  possible,  if  the  mem- 
bers of  a  family  by  the  name  of  Ekstrom  were  among  those  who  per- 
ished in  the  recent  fire  at  Hinckley.  The  family  consisted  of  Andrew 
and  Maren  Ekstrom,  husband  and  wife,  and  a  son,  Gustav,  who  was 
about  eighteen  years  of  age.  This  inquiry  comes  from  a  daughter 
of  the  old  folks,  who  lives  in  Norway.  She  has  had  several  letters 


386  MINNESOTA   FOREST  FIXES. 


SIR  DONALD  SMITH,  K.  C.  B. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  387 

returned,  and  therefore  she  fears  that  they  were  among  the  unfor- 
tunate. Kindly  try  to  ascertain  what  has  become  of  those  people, 
and  very  much  oblige,  Yours  very  truly, 

E.  H.  'KOBE, 

,<ie  have  pleasure  in  informing  you  there  is  no  such  name  as 
Ekstrom  on  the  death  list,  nor  is  it  on  the  list  of  fire  sufferers. 

Truly  yours, 

CH.  ARVOLD. 

I  write  you  to  make  inquiry  about  feeding  young  stock  and  horses 
that  was  saved  from  the  fire  of  September  ist,  1894.  Please  let  me 
know  as  soon  as  possible  and  oblige. 

E.  C.  BUEL, 

In  behalf  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  this  place  we  take  the 
liberty  of  addressing  you,  hoping  the  commission,  through  you,  will 
be  able  to  afford  us  help  in  building  a  church.  At  time  of  fire  we 
had  a  nice  church,  and  being  close  to  the  wroods,  we  were  unable 
to  get  insurance,  consequently  it  was  a  total  loss,  and  having  lost 
all  our  own  property  we  can  not  do  much  towards  building.  At 
the  present  time  we  are  short  $400,  or  a  little  more,  of  completing 
building.  Xow,  if  you  can  help  us,  say  $300,  I  think  we  can  raise 
balance  from  outside  friends.  We  are  very  truly  yours, 

J.  S.  LYXDS,  Trustee. 

M.  BULLIS,  Trustee. 

GEORGE  WILKES.   Trustee. 

ANGUS  GUNN,  Deacon. 

I  appeal  to  you  for  help.  We  have  had  a  great  deal  of  help  but 
we  can  not  cultivate  our  land  without  a  team  and  implements  to 
work  with  a:;J  seed  to  sow.  We  thought  with  five  cows  that  we 
would  be  able  to  get  along  without  more  help,  but  it  takes  prettv 
near  all  the  milk  money  to  feed  the  cows  and  horse.  The  horse  we 
have  for  the  keeping  this  winter.  I  shall  lose  it  in  plowing  time.  1 
do  not  know  what  to  do  unless  you  help  us  to  make  a  payment  on  a 
team.  I  shall  have  to  quit  selling  milk,  and  my  husband  is  not  able 
to  do  hard  work.  We  have  to  build  fences  and  I  shall  have  to  hire 
help,  and  am  unable  to  pay  for  it.  We  did  not  get  any  breaking  done 
last  fall.  Mr.  Miller  has  dropped  us  long  ago  and, our  supply  is  all 
gone  except  flour.  I  am  willing  and  able  to  work,  but  with  all  my 
efforts  I  cannot  feed  and  clothe  them  as  they  should  be.  I  have  four 


388  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

young  children  and  a  crippled  husband  to  work  for.  I  drive  every 
morning  to  town,  four  miles  and  one-half,  with  the  milk  and  leave 
my  baby,  one  year  old,  at  home.  Respectfully  yours, 

LOUISE  C.  BILADOE. 

I  am  in  receipt  of  your  letter  of  March  9th  inclosing  petition  from 
Gilbert,  Morrison  county,  and  will  take  immediate  steps  to  look  into 
the  matter. 

The  state  commission  some  time  ago  gave  temporary  relief  to  the 
fire  sufferers  in  Morrison  county,  and  the  funds  at  their  disposal  will 
not  admit  of  their  giving  any  considerable  additional  relief.  I  ho'je. 
however,  that  we  may  be  able  to  give  them  necessary  relief  in  the  line 
of  seed.  H.  H.  HART. 

WINTKROP,  MIN.IN.,  Sept.  4,  1894. 
Gov.  KNUTE  NELSON: 

I  wired  you  today  to  "Draw  on  me  for  one  hundred  dollars,  as 
token  of  partial  sympathy  for  the  fire  sufferers.  Pledge  same  amount 
from  Glencoe."  Yours  truly, 

S.  H.  REED. 

LAKEFIELD,  MINN.,  Oct.  24,  1894. 
MR.  KENNETH  CLARK,  ST.  PAUL: 

You  will  find  enclosed  an  order  for  ten  dollars  ($10)  which  is  sent 
to  you  for  the  relief  of  the  "fire  sufferers."  The  pupils,  not  the  teach- 
ers, of  the  Lakefield  school,  set  on  foot  the  idea  of  having  an  enter- 
tainment for  the  benefit  of  the  fire  sufferers,  and  as  they  could  not 
find  a  more  worthy  cause,  the  teachers  have  helped  as  far  as  possible 
in  the  entertainment.  The  sum  is  small,  and  yet  it  is  not,  for  a 
village  of  this  size,  but  we  hope  it  will  benefit  some  one. 

MISS  FLORA  GALBREATH,  Principal. 
MEDALIA,  Oct.  23,  1C94. 

MR.   PiLLSBURY: 

\Ye  have  a  large  lot  of  bedding  ready  for  the  "fire  sufferers."  Will 
you  please  tell  me  whom  to  send  it  to  for  distribution  ? 

Very  respectful Iv, 

'MRS.  WILLIAM  BROWX. 

GRAND  RAPIDS,  MICH.,  Oct.  12,  1894. 
KENNETH  CLARK,  ESQ.: 

I  enclose  a  draft  on  Chicago  for  two  hundred  dollars  for  the  "Re- 
lief of  Fire  Sufferers'"  fund.  This  is  contributed  by  the  Misses 
Isabella  C.  Wood  and  Lorraine  F.  Wood,  daughters  of  the  late  Ran- 
som E.  Wood,  of  this  citv,  and  who  now  reside  in  Europe. 

Yours  truly,  J.  F.  BAARS,  Cashier. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  389 

APPLETON,  MINN.,  Sept.  4,  1894. 
MR.  C.  A.  PILLSBURY: 

Enclosed  please  find  check  for  $25  to  add  to  the  relief  fund  for 
the  Hinckley  suft'erers.  It  is  small,  but  well  meant. 

Yours  truly, 

A/K.  PEDUM. 
SMATTUCK  SCHOOL,  FARIEAULT,  MINN.,  Sept.  13,  1894. 

MR.   IONNETH  CLARI': 

I  have  just  returned  from  Chicago,  and  find  the  enclosed  letter 
frcm  a  manufacturing  company  in  Virginia,  from  which  we  purchase 
o;  •  cadet  cloth.  The  piece  of  goods  has  also  arrived  and  I  send  it  to 
your  address  by  the  United  States  Express.  I  am  sure  it  will  gratify 
my  merchant  if  his  gift  is  acknowledged  from  your  office.  With 
admiration  for  the  noble  work  you  and  your  associates  are  doing  for 
their  sufferings,  I  am  Yours  very  truly, 

JAMES  DOBBIN. 

CHARLOTTESVILLE,  VA.,  Sept,  5,  1894. 
REV.  JAMES  DOBBIN: 

The  terrible  loss  of  life  and  suffering,  resulting  from  the  fires  in  a 
portion  of  your  state,  appeals  to  our  sympathies  most  earnestly,  and 
as  clothing  will  be  needed,  we  decide  to  send  a  piece  of  goods  for 
the  benefit  of  the  homeless  survivors.  Casting  around  for  some  one 
to  send  it  to,  in  the  absence  of  any  suggestion  in  the  telegrams  about 
the  fires  as  to  who  is  chairman  of  the  relief  committee,  I  conclude  to 
forward  to  you,  with  the  request  that  you  will  see  that  it  reaches  its 
proper  destination,  and  oblige.  Most  truly  yours, 

H.  C.  MARCHENT,  President 
CANNON  FALLS,  MINN.,  Sept.  5,  1894. 

I  have  just  wired  you,  "Draw  on  village  of  Cannon  Falls,  dona- 
tions of  village  and  citizens,  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  ($350). 
More  will  follow."  We  hope  to  send  some  more  within  a  few  days. 

Very  truly, 
DR.  H.  E.  COX  LEY,  Mayor.  CLIFF  W.  GRESS,  Cashier. 

CHICAGO,  Sept.  6,  1894. 

With  sympathy  for  the  sufferers  by  the  great  fire  in  the  state  of 
Minnesota,  I  send  the  amount  of  the  enclosed  check. 

Yours  truly, 

(Check  $100.)  J.  H.  M'YICKER, 

President  of  McVicker's  Theater  Company. 

CARLISLE,  ARK.,  Sept.  8,  1894. 
Enclosed  please  find  Pacific  Express  order  for  $6.75  (six  dollars 


390 


MLNNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MRS.  ELIZA  TOWERS  AND  SON. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  301 

and  seventy-five  cents),  sent  by  citizens  of  our  little  village  to  help 
relieve  suffering  of  the  unfortunates  at  Hinckley.  Not  being  able 
to  find  out  names  of  chairman  of  relief  committees,  we  send  this 
to  you,  knowing  that  it  will  be  applied  to  uses  for  which  it  is  sent, 
as  soon  as  though  sent  to  relief  committee.  Our  villages  is  small, 
but  we  send  our  little  mite,  and  ask  God's  blessing  on  your  unfortu- 
nate people.  Yours  truly, 

T.  H.  CUSHIXG, 
C.  H.  OSBORN. 
OMAHA,  NEB.,  Sept.  8,  1894. 

Please  accept  the  enclosed  two  dollars  for  the  use  of  the  fire  suffer- 
ers and  oblige. 

MR.  AND  AIRS.  E.  BOYD. 

Los  ANGELES,  CAL.,  Sept.  9,  1S94. 

In  reading  the  "Los  Angeles  Times"  I  saw  your  name  mentioned. 
It  was  in  reference  to  your  going  to  Sandstone  to  look  over  the 
burnt  district  to  see  what  help  was  needed.  My  heart  goes  out  in 
sympathy  with  those  sorrowing  ones  in  those  towns  where  the  fires 
have  occurred,  and  how  I  wish  I  had  plenty  of  money  to  send  to  you, 
to  us-e  for  these  needy  ones.  Enclosed  you  will  find  postoffice  order 
for  $5.  It  is  small,  I  know,  but  it  will  help  a  little. 

Kindly  yours, 
MISS  MARY  CONSIDINE, 

Pasadena,  California. 

CANNON  FALLS,  MINN.,  Sept.  10,  1894. 

I  ship  you  today  by  the  Minneapolis  &  St.  Louis  Railway  two 
boxes  of  clothing  for  fire  sufferers,  and  more  will  follow  in  a  day 
or  two.  I  had  no  means  of  knowing  how  to  ship,  further  than  direct 
to  you.  We  have  raised  about  $450  in  cash  besides  clothing. 

S.  S.  LEWIS, 
Chairman  Relief  Committee. 

SAUK  CENTER,  MINN.,  Sept.  11,  1894. 
Advise  me  where  to  ship  bedding  and  clothing  for  sufferers. 

P.  LAMB. 

FAIRFAX,  MINN.,  Sept.  to,  1894. 

Enclosed  please  find  draft  for  sixty-five  dollars  and  thirty-five 
cents,  forty  dollars  and  thirty  cents  of  which  was  given  by  private 
subscriptions,  and  twenty-five  out  of  village  treasury,  to  be  given  to 


302  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

the  dear  people  who  are  suffering  from  the  recent  fire.  Praying  thai 
God  may  bless  the  small  donation  to  them,  and  also  encourage  others 
to  do  the  same,  they  have  our  prayers  and  sympathy.  Please  send 
me  a  receipt  for  the  same. 

Yours  on  behalf  of  the  citizens  of  Fairfax, 

REV.  E.  WILLIAMS. 

MANKATO,  MINN.,  Sept.  11,  1894. 

Enclosed  please  find  draft  for  one  hundred  and  forty  dollars  from 
the  ladies  of  Mankato,  for  the  fire  sufferers  of  Hinckley.  A  ben- 
efit entertainment  given  last  night,  of  which  the  ladies  had  charge, 
raised  the  above  amount.  We  send  this  right  to  you,  and  trust  it 
may  relieve  some  poor  soul  in  distress  and  need.  We  know  of  no 
better  committee  to  send  it  to. 

Yours  very  respectfully, 

MRS.  W.'  B.  CRAIG. 
Chairman   of   Committee. 

BYRON,  MINN.,  Sept.  11,  1884. 

Yesterday  I  presented  to  my  congregation  the  claims  of  the  fire 
sufferers,  and  asked  them  to  give  an  offering,  which  they  cheerfully 
did.  Enclosed  you  will  find  my  check  for  $30  as  a  contribution  from 
the  congregation  of  the  Byron  Methodist  Church. 

Please  acknowledge.  Sincerely, 

REV.  W.  E.  KING,  Pastor. 

OWATONNA,  Sept.  14,  1894. 

I  have  this  day  deposited,  subject  to  your  order,  one  hundred  and 
forty-five  dollars  ($145)  to  be  used  for  the  relief  of  sufferers  at  Hinck- 
ley. We  should  be  glad  if  this  could  be  used  for  home  building.  I 
also  hold,  subject  to  your  order,  one  car  of  merchandise,  flour  and 
furniture.  Please  advise  me.  Very  truly, 

JAMES  A.  CHAMBERLAIN. 

WAHPETON,  N.  D.,  Sept.  15,  1894. 

I  take  pleasure  in  sending  you  herewith  on  behalf  of  Turn  Yerein 
Norwaerts  and  the  citizens  of  Wahpeton,  draft  No.  17,326,  of  $103.85, 
for  the  relief  of  the  Minnesota  fire  sufferers.  The  above  amount  rep- 
resents the  net  proceeds  realized  at  a  "Relief  Ball,"  held  under  the 
auspices  of  the  members  of  the  Turn  Yerein  Xonvaerts,  for  the  Min- 
nesota fi/e  sufferers.  Respectfully  yours, 

CHARLES  G.  BADE. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  393 

ELBOW  LAKE,  MINN.,  Sept.  17,  1894. 

The  Ladies'  Aid  Society,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  this  place, 
"have  packed  a  box  of  clothing,  bedding,  etc.,  for  the  fire  sufferers  of 
Hinckley.  As  treasurer  of  the  relief  committee,  we  would  like  to 
have  some  information  as  to  the  place  of  sending,  and  to  whom  it 
may  be  addressed.  The  box  is  in  readiness,  and  will  be  sent  imme- 
diately upon  receipt  of  information. 

Yours,  in  the  interest  of  the  afflicted, 

MRS.  JAMES  GODWARD, 
President  Ladies'  Aid  Society. 

VERINON  CENTER,  M«NN,,  Sept.  18,  1894. 

The  W.  C.  T.  U.,  of  Vernon  Center,  ship  you  today  ten  sacks  of 
flour,  one  sack  potatoes,  one  sack  beans,  one  sack  corn,  six  sacks, 
two  boxes  and  one  parcel  of  bedding  and  clothing,  and  inclose  within 
this  $8.50  check,  which  we  trust  you  may  receive  in  good  order,  and 
would  like  it  to  have  been  a  much  more  liberal  contribution. 

Respectfully, 
MRS.  JEXNIE  R.  BABCOCK. 

MINNEAPOLIS,  MINN.,  Sept.  20,  1894. 

Herewith  find  account  siles  of  ^  Martin  &  Wyman,  together  with 
their  check,  duly  indorsed,  calling  for  $478.10,  same  being  proceeds 
of  sale  of  care  Xo.  17,128,  received  from  the  citizens  of  Warren,  Mar- 
shall County  Minnesota,  for  the  benefit  of  the  sufferers  caused  by  the 
late  fire  at  Hinckley  and  vicinity,  for  which  you  will  kindly  sign  the 
enclosed  receipt  and  duplicate,  and  return  same  to  this  office,  and 
much  oblige.  Yours  truly, 

C.'M.  AMSDEN. 

"Philadelphia,  Sept.  5,  1894. — As  mayor  of  Philadelphia  arid  chair- 
man of  the  citizens'  permanent  relief  committee,  I  beg  to  convey  to 
you  the  sympathy  of  this  community  with  your  people  for  the  great 
loss  of  life  and  property  occasioned  by  the  terrible  forest  fires,  and  to 
request  that  you  advise  me  as  to  the  exact  condition  of  aflairs  in  that 
afflicted  district,  what  relief  is  being  given,  and  whether  assistance  is 
needed  from  sources  outside  of  your  state. 

"EDWIN  S.  STUART, 
Mayor  of  Philadelphia." 

The  same  telegram  was  sent  to  Hon.  George  W.  Peck,  governor  cf 
Wisconsin. 


394 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


mm* 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  395 

LONDON,  ENGLAND,  Sept.  4,  1894. 

Deeply  sympathize  with  sufferers  by  fire  and  am  sending-  you  today 
five  thousand  dollars  for  their  relief. 

DONALD  SMITH. 

LEMSFORD,  ENGLAND,  Sept.  6,  1894. 

Have  cabled  Turnbull  to  send  five  thousand  dollars  in  aid  of  relief 
fund.  MOUNT-STEPHEN. 

LONDON,  ENGLAND,  Sept.  6,  1894. 

My  wife  sends  you  today  one  thousand  dollars  for  relief  fund. 

SMITH. 

Bank  of  Montreal. 

MONTREAL,  Sept.  7,  1894. 

Will  you  kindly  make  over  the  enclosed  check  for  $500  to  the  com- 
mittee, as  a  contribution  towards  the  relief  of  those  who  have  so 
sadly  suffered  in  the  recent  fires  in  Minnesota. 

Yours  sincerely, 

R.  B.  ANGUS. 

LETTER  FROM  POET  LOXGFELLOW'S  SISTER. 

CAMBRIDGE,  MASS. 
DEAR  MR.  WILKINSON: 

Your  letter  has  been  received.  I  hasten  to  send  you  check  en- 
closed for  $100,  which  I  hope  will  aid  you  in  your  church  building 
in  the  fire  district.  The  fires  have  been  terrible  in  your  midst. 

Wishing  you  continued  happiness  and  prosperity  in  your  blessed 
work,  I  am  Cordially  yours, 

MARY  L.  GREENLEAF. 

MONTREAL,  May  7,  1895. 

I  greatly  regret  that  there  has  been  so  much  delay  in  sending  you 
the  photographs  of  my  husband  and  myself  you  kindly  desire  to 
have,  but  I  had  no  photograph  of  myself  in  the  house,  and  it  is  only 
within  these  few  days  back  I  have  recovered  sufficiently  from  a  severe 
illness  to  be  able  to  sit  for  one.  They  are  forwarded  by  this  mail, 
and  I  trust  will  still  be  in  time  for  your  purpose.  It  is  hardly  neces- 
sary I  should  say  to  you  how  glad  we  were  to  have  had  it  in  our 
power  to  contribute  somewhat  to  the  fund  for  the  relief  of  the  suffer- 
ers from  fire  in  Minnesota,  whose  condition  was  heart-rending.  We 
know  how  sympathetic  our  good  friends  Mr.  and  Airs.  J.  J.  Hill  at 
all  times  are,  and  that  their  efforts  and  generous  kindness  in  the  par- 
ticular case  to  which  you  refer  should  have  been  exerted  to  the  fullest 


39G  MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 

extent  is  only  what  we,  and  all  who  have  the  privilege  of  their  ac- 
quaintance would  have  expected  of  them. 

Thanking  you  much  for  your  kind  consideration,  believe  me  to 
be,  my  dear  sir,  Very  sincerely  yours, 

ISABELLA  S.  SMITH. 

Dear  Brother:  I  am  glad  to  hear  of  the  good  work  you  are  doing 
for  the  fire  sufferers.  You  can  use  $250  I  have  had  sent  from  a 
friend  in  the  East.  Only  need  must  be  considered;  we  must  do  our 
best  to  assist  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men.  Truly  yours, 

H.  B.  WHIPPLE. 

Bishop  of  Minnesota. 


ADVENTURES. 

'THE  Hinckley  fire,  like  all  other  great  scourges,  brought  to  light 
•*•  the  true  nature  of  men  and  women  who  seek  to  make  calamity  a 
means  of  gain.  There  were  persons  who  sought  to  obtain  relief 
at  different  places  and  here  and  there  those  who  tried  hard  to  make 
people  think  that  they,  before  the  fire,  had  been  very  well  off, 
in  fact  "fixed  in  a  way  that  left  nothing  to  be  desired!"  All  of  which 
their  neighbors  never  knew  and  which  they  themselves  never  told 
the  county  assessor.  There  were  wTell-to-do  people,  about 
whose  circumstances  there  could  be  no  doubt,  who  felt  that  they 
should  be  dealt  with  according  to  what  they  had  lost.  "I  want  my 
share,"  said  one;  "divide  up  and  I  shall  be  satisfied;  I  lost  twenty 
times  as  much  as  Smith  lost."  Such  a  method  would  have  left  the 
homeless  in  destitution.  There  was  no  possible  plan  of  making  up 
every  man's  loss;  to  do  so  would  have  taken  millions  of  dollars. 
The  man  who  lost  least,  who  had  a  family  and  stayed  at  his  old 
home,  got  relatively  most. 

Then  there  appeared  the  festive  tramp  who  had  been  in  the  fire, 
came  near  being  burnt  up  and  was  begging  his  way  "to  home,  back 
East."  One  such  got  a  good  suit  in  Minneapolis,  but  came  to  a 
full  stop  when  he,  one  fine  morning,  called  upon  a  gentleman  who 
was  on  the  citizens'  committee,  told  his  story  and  was  informed  that 
if  he  were  a  real  fire  sufferer,  he  should  be  sent  to  his  intended  des- 
tination when  asked  to  come  to  headquarters  he  had  another  en- 
gagement! 

The  ladies  of  the  houses  to  which  men  like  this  came  had  read 
through  blinding  tears  the  sad  stories  of  hair  breadth  escapes,  and 
the  tenderest  emotions  of  their  souls  were  moved  and  they  were  not 
afraid  to  express  their  interest  in  the  woe  begone  tales  such  men 
could  tell.  "Were  you  in  the  fire?"  "Yes,  m'am;  I  lived  two  miles 
and  a  half  above  Hinckley.  Lost  my  sister  an'  cousin  an'  a  young- 
lady  as  I  was  to  have  made  my  wife.  All  gone!  I  as  was  in  a 


398  MINNESOTA.  FOREST  FJPES. 

good  place  at  work  on  a  farm  with  Mr.  Anderson,  as  is  now  dead, 
an'  his  wife  in  the  hospital,  have  to  beg  to  get  back  to  my  folks  back 
East."  To  his  friend  round  the  corner:  "This  will  give  us  both 
a  cigar  and  something  to  drink.  I  tell  you  as  this  fire  racket  works 
well!" 

One  man  asked  aid  who  had  eleven  hundred  dollars  in  the  bank. 
One  man  came  and  said  to  Mr.  Pillsbury:  "I  should  think  you 
would  not  keep  such  people  as  K.,  who  is  not  very  respectable,  never 
had  a  good  character."  Mr.  Pillsbury  said:  'T  suppose  these  peo- 
ple were  in  the  fire,  lost  all  they  had  and  are  penniless  and  home- 
less?" "Yes,  of  course."  "Well,"  said  he,  "this  money  was  not 
all  given  by  saints.  Much  of  it  was  given  by  those  who  do  not 
call  themselves  over  religious.  We  shall  ask  no  questions  on  such 
matters;  we  shall  try  to  see  that  all  have  a  place  in  which  to  live 
and  that  they  have  enough  to  eat,  and  clothes  suitable  to  wear." 

Right  minded  folks  will  see  the  wisdom  of  this  plan. 

Then  there  \vere  men  who  passed  through  the  fire  who  desired  to 
have  it  thought  they  played  a  noble  part,  when  men  who  were  with 
them  know  that  nature  had  not  designed  to  make  them  prominent  in 
the  annals  of  courage.  There  was  here  and  there  a  professional 
man  or  a  tradesman,  whose  desire  for  cash  got  the  better  of  his 
generous  instincts,  not  to  say  sense  of  justice;  but  such  was  the 
exception.  The  cases  where  the  adventurer  and  swindler  got  an  ad- 
vantage or  made  gain  are  few  and  unimportant,  scarcely  worth  a 
name  or  place  in  this  work  except  to  show  that  selfishness  will 
work,  even  when  sadness  is  at  its  saddest. 


WHAT  CORPORATIONS  DID. 


''T  HE  work  of  the  state  commission  and  of  all  the  committees  was 
-*-  greatly  helped  by  the  splendid  generosity  of  the  corporations 
which  had  interests  in  the  regions  over  which  the  fire  passed.  From 
the  start  the  aid  was  prompt  and  given  in  a  jnost  cheerful  spirit.  In 
looking  at  this  fact  another  must  also  be  kept  in  view.  The  corpo- 
rations were  the  heaviest  losers.  The  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  Railway 
had  buildings  to  erect  and  permanent  way  to  repair  for  a  distance  of 
twenty  miles.  They  put;  in  more  than  twenty-two  thousand  ties 
under  the  rails,  and  of  course,  had  to  replace  all  the  steel  rails 
warped  and  otherwise  damaged  by  fire.  They  had  one  train  burnt 
so  that  nothing  was  left  of  value.  They  had  the  loss  of  much  traffic 
for  a  time  and  paid  the  wages  of  all  persons  who  in  their  employ 
sustained  damage.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  covering  all  this  by 
insurance.  The  Great  Northern  Railway  had  thirty  miles  of  track 
to  repair  and  the  Kettle  river  bridge  to  build  anew.  This  bridge  is 
more  than  three  hundred  feet  long  and  a  hundred  and  forty  feet 
high.  Timber  suitable  for  many  parts  of  this  work  was  not  on  hand 
in  Duluth  at  the  time  of  the  fire,  but  was  being  cut.  In  a  few 
hours  three  hundred  men  were  put  to  work  on  the  bridge.  It 
took  them  nine  days  to  get  it  ready  for  service.  They  worked 
every  possible  hour,  night  and  day.  The  master  mechanic,  Air. 
Whyte,  the  master  carpenter,  Mr.  Finlayson,  and  General  Man- 
ager Mr.  Farrington  kept  vigilant  oversight  of  what  was  being  done. 
Mr.  S.  Hill  and  Mr.  J.  J.  Hill  from  time  to  time  overlooked  the  work. 
The  intention  was  to  make  a  better  bridge  than  the  one  burned  ever 
was  and  the  result  justifies  the  design.  The  road  repaired,  wherever 
possible,  was  ballasted  with  stone  from  the  quarries  at  Sandstone. 
It  is  intended  to  use  this  material  all  along  the  line  so  as  to  «jive 
durability  and  prevent  dust.  These  two  railways  had  to  employ  a 
small  army  of  men  for  a  long  time  and  the  mathematical  precision 
with  which  the  whole  work  was  done  was  the  admiration  of  all  who 


400 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


9 


fe 


FREDERICK  WEVERHAUSER. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  401 

saw  it.  The  telegraph  connections  being  repaired  at  a  very  early 
stage  in  the  reconstructive  work,  gave  means  of  communication  with 
all  parts  of  the  railway  systems.  The  wires  could  be  tapped  at  any 
place  and  messages  sent  for  men  or  material  and  thus  time  and  labor 
were  saved.  It  was  in  scenes  like  these  when  to  railway  officials 
every  moment  was  of  value,  when  a  thousand  things  pressed  for 
prompt  attention  that  the  heads  of  these  corporations  gave  ready  ear 
and  whole  souled  help  to  the  needs  of  those  who  had  lived  along 
their  line  and  carried  goods  and  people  free;  in  fact  all  who  were 
in  the  fire,  their  relatives  who  went  to  visit  and  friends  who  went  to 
help  them  from  September  to  November  tenth,  1894.  To  this  they 
added  large  gifts,  as  the  report  of  the  state  commission  shows 
The  telegraph  companies  also  joined  the  noble  throng  of  those 
who  desired  to  assist,  and  sent  messages  of  all  kinds  free. 
When  it  is  recorded  that  the  man  who  had  only  a  dollar  was 
ready  to  share  it  and  the  poor  farmer  who  nad  little,  to  di- 
vide it,  and  the  newsboy  to  give  ot  his  gain  and  the  rich  man 
of  his  plenty,  we  also  must  tell  that  corporations,  which  are  often 
abused  and  said  to  have  no  souls,  in  this  great  holocaust  behaved  as 
if  they  were  all  soul.  The  following  resolutions  were  sent  to  Presi- 
dent Samuel  Hill,  of  the  Eastern  division  of  the  Great  Northern 
road,  and  A.  B.  Plough,  general  manager  of  the  St.  Paul  and  Du- 
luth  road. 

Dear  Sir: — The  Minnesota  State  Relief  Commission  has  now  prac- 
tically completed  its  work  and  I  am  instructed  to  extend  to  you  in 
behalf  of  the  commission  their  hearty  thanks  for  the  numerous  cour- 
tesies which  they  received  at  your  hands,  all  of  which  are  warmly 
appreciated. 

I  am  instructed  also  to  emphasize  what  has  already  been  said  by 
the  commission  in  its  printed  report  by  way  of  appreciation  of  the 
generosity  and  promptness  with  which  you  have  responded  to  every 
call  on  behalf  of  the  sufferers  by  forest  fires.  In  the  opinion  of  the 
commission  nothing  has  been  left  undone  by  your  company  which 
could  possibly  have  been  expected  of  them  under  the  circumstances. 
By  your  promptness  and  energy  you  have  prevented  much  sufrring 
and  have  added  largely  to  the  ability  of  those  people  to  provide  for 
themselves. 

By  order  of  the  State  Commission.  H.  H.  HART, 

Secy,   of  the    Commission. 


402  MINNESOTA  IVREST  FIRES. 

The  telegraph  companies  also  received  well  merited  thanks  and 
the  resolution  printed  below  shows  in  what  form  they  were  sent  to*  I. 
AIcMichael,  Esq.,  superintendent  of  the  Western  Union  and  to  Harry 
A.  Tuttle,  Esq.,  general  superintendent  North  American  Telegraph 
Company. 

Dear  Sir: — The  Minnesota  State  Relief  Commission  has  now  prac- 
tically completed  its  work,  and  I  am  instructed  to  express  to  you 
their  grateful  appreciation  of  the  generosity  of  your  company  in  ex- 
tending the  free  use  of  the  lines  to  the  commission.  This  privilege 
greatly  facilitated  the  work  of  the  commission  and  enabled  them  to 
operate  much  more  efficiently  and  promptly  than  they  otherwise 
could  have  done.  I  am,  dear  sir, 

Yours  respectfully,  H.  H.  HART, 

Secy.  State  Relief  Commission. 


WISCONSIN. 

The  year  1894  will  be  lo  remembered  in  this  state  for  its  terrible 
forest  fires.  Not  since  the  Pesthigo  fires  have  there  been  such  de- 
vastation. The  intense  heat  and  the  scarcity  of  rain  made  the  forests 
almost  like  a  kiln,  so  that  when  once  fire  began  it  was  always  most 
difficult  and  often  impossible  to  keep  it  in  check.  The  experience 
gained  by  woodsmen  and  lumber  men  make  them  experts  in  dealing 
with  forest  fires,  but  all  the  knowledge  and  the  resources  of  man 
availed  little  against  the  sweeping  flames  which  are  driven  like  an 
overwhelming  flood  by  a  strong  wind,  leaving  destruction  and  death 
in  its  path.  All  the  summer  fire  had  been  feared  and  looked  for 
and  by  the  end  of  July  it  was  said  not  less  than  five  million  dollars 
worth  of  pine  had  been  destroyed.  The  attention  of  men  engaged 
in  the  lumber  business  had  been  called  to  this  fact  in  the  Mississippi 
Valley  Lumberman  of  August  third,  by  Mr.  F.  F.  Morgan,  who 
asked  the  help  of  that  able  paper  to  treat  the  matter  exhaustively. 
All  was  done  which  wras  possible  to  do,  but  disaster  was  not  averted. 
Fire  extended  over  a  space  nearly  fifty  miles  wide.  The  northern 
line  of  fire  being  about  forty  miles  south  of  Superior.  Hamlets 
and  villages  and  towns  shared  the  same  fate.  Phillips  was  burned 
on  the  27th  of  July  and  the  loss  of  life  would  have  been  great  had 
it  not  been  for  the  fact  that  the  inhabitants  escaped  by  taking  train 
to  the  places  of  safety  in  which  they  found  refuge.  The  John  R. 
Davis  Lumber  Company  was  heaviest  loser  in  a  commercial  point 
of  view.  Mr.  B.  W.  Davis,  manager,  deserves  great  credit  for  his 
brave  help  of  all  in  sorrow  who  could  be  assisted.  Governor  Peck 
wired  help  and  on  Sunday  morning  reached  Phillips  with  a  train  and 
provisions  of  all  kinds.  He  soon  saw  how  appalling  the  damage 
was.  Phillips,  which  with  its  more  than  two  thousand  people,  looked 
bright  and  fair  on  Friday  morning,  on  the  Sunday  after  lay  a  heap 
of  ruins.  The  people  burned  out  at  Phillips  received  help  from  Mer- 
rill, Rhinelander,  Wausau,  Portage,  Superior,  High  Bridge,  Mellen, 


404 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  405 

Stevens  Point,  Chicago,  Milwaukee,  Eau  Claire,  Fond  du  Lac.  The 
E.  P.  AUis  Company  of  Milwaukee,  sent  $100.  Major  Up- 
ham  came  with  a  committee  from  Marshfield  and  brought  .several  cars 
loaded  with  provisions,  which  w^ere  very  welcome  to  the  homeless 
people.  The  dead,  twelve  in  number,  rest  in  peace  in  the  midst  of 
scenes  which  were  so  familiar  to  them.  A  switch  engine  took  20 
cars  full  of  people  twelve  miles  out  of  danger. 

Mason,  a  small  town  on  the  Omaha  road  in  Bayfield  county,  was 
also  the  scene  of  a  destructive  fire  Friday  night.  The  plant  of  the 
\Yhite  River  Lumber  Company,  a  Weyerhauser  interest,  managed  by 
John  A.  Humbird,  was  entirely  destroyed.  The  loss  included  the 
saw  mill,  planing  mill,  about  33,000,000  feet  of  lumber  and  many 
houses  of  employes.  The  loss  to  the  White  River  Lumber  Com- 
pany is  about  $700,000,  on  which  there  was  insurance  to  the  amount 
of  $300,000.  Mr.  Humbird  was  seen  in  St.  Paul  and,  in  conversa- 
tion with  a  representative  of  The  Lumberman,  stated  that  every- 
thing was  so  dry  and  was  cleaned  up  so  thoroughly  that  there  was 
hardly  a  bushel  of  ashes  left.  The  camps  of  the  Thompson  Lumber 
Company  at  White  River  were  also  burned,  as  was  also  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Ashland  Lumber  Company  at  Shores  Landing. 

The  Barronett  Lumber  Company's  entire  plant  was  consumed. 
W.  R.  Bourne,  of  the  Barronett  Lumber  Company,  who  went  up  to 
that  town  immediately  upon  receipt  of  the  news  of  the  fire,  tele- 
graphed the  Milwaukee  Sentinal  that  his  company  loses  about  13,- 
000,000  feet  of  lumber  and  O.  A.  Ritan  &  Co.,  about  1,000,000  at 
Grand  Lake.  The  Barronett  Lumber  Company  also  lost  its  mill, 
thirty-five  houses  and  all  its  property  at  Barronett,  valued  at  about 
$275,000.  The  insurance  on  the  lumber  was  $115,000.  About  fifty 
familes  lost  everything.  O.  A.  Ritan  Co.'s  loss  is  estimated  at  $45,.- 
ooo.  The  Barronett  Lumber  Company's  mill  was  insured  to  the 
amount  of  $20,000  making  its  total  insurance  $135,000.  The  loss 
at  Barronett  is  estimated  to  be  about  as  follows : 

13,500,000  feet  of  lumber $130,000 

13,000,000  shingles 19,000 

4,000,000  lath  5,ooo 

Saw  mill 40,000 

Planing  mill  10,000 

Boarding  house 3,000 

Three  barns 2.000 

Dry  sheds  and  shingle  sheds 1,000 


404 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  407 

Store,  office  and  stock 13,000 

Windmill 2,000 

Blacksmith  and  carpenter  shop  and  tools  10,000 

Logging1  sleds 7,000 

Dwelling  houses 20,000 

200  tons  hay  and  sheds  3,000 

10,000  cords  of  slabs 10,000 

Total  loss $275,000 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  state  is  paying  for  the  cultivation  of 
trees;  that  the  lumber  supply  is  being  so  rapidly  lessened,  while 
the  increase  of  demand  has  grown  five  times  in  less  than  sixty-five 
years;  that  forest  fires  raged  in  the  great  timber  states  of  Michi- 
gan, Wisconsin  and  Minnesota;  that  towns  like  Mason,  Phillips,  Bar- 
ronett,  Shell  Lake  and  many  others  in  Wisconsin  either  were  de- 
stroyed or  came  so  near  being  destroyed  as  to  terrify  all  the  country 
round,  is  it  not  wise  to  take  in  hand  seriously  the  question  of  preven- 
tion of  fires?  It  does  not  sound  much  to  hear  that  Shell  Lake,  for 
instance,  suffered  by  fire,  but  it  means  much  to  the  men  who  owned 
mills,  to  men  who  worked  in  them  and  cut  sixteen  "million  feet  of 
lumber  in  a  year,  to  Mrs.  Towers,  who  had  to  drag  her  son  out  of 
bed  when  he  had  typhoid  fever,  to  take  him  to  the  barn  and  throw 
water  upon  him,  while  she  also  saw  her  home  burn  to  the  ground. 
These  forest  fires  mean  that  wake  will  be  followed  by  want.  It  is 
of  no  use  for  the  lumbermen  to  look  for  efficient  help  from  legisla- 
tures in  the  prevention  of  disastrous  fires.  The  men  engaged  in  the 
cutting  and  sale  of  timber  could  raise  a  fund  of  five  thousand  dollars 
a  year  by  giving  twenty  dollars  each  and  the  raihvays  give  trans- 
portation to  a  man,  who  could  do  more  to  prevent  fires  than  has 
ever  been  yet  done.  As  long  as  all  kinds  of  refuse  is  left  and  the 
forests  are  unenclosed  and  every  man  can  do  in  them  pretty  much 
as  he  will,  we  shall  in  dry  seasons  have  calamity.  Calamity  which 
will  move  the  very  souls  of  men  of  all  classes  and  in  all  lands.  In 
the  reports  of  relief  we  see  this  set  forth.  Henry  Irving  sends  $500 
to  the  fire  sufferers,  which  it  appears  was  not  required  in  Wisconsin. 
Lord  Mountstephen,  of  London,  sends  $5,000  to  Minnesota,  and 
Sir  Donald  Alex  Smith  and  Lady  Smith  send  six  thousand  dollars. 
Poor  newsboys  give  of  their  cents.  All  this  is  more  than  noble,  but 
we  should  see  to  it  that  the  possibility  of  such  need  never  again  rises, 
if  this  can  be. 


408 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


CONTENTS. 

Preface 5 

Introductory   9 

Miramichi    Fire 1 1 

Mission  Creek 20 

Brook  Park 25 

Hinckley    45 

Sandstone   71 

Partridge    100 

Death  List '. 103 

Xo.  4  Train  Limited 127 

Root's   Experience   1 29 

Statement  of  F.  B.  Daugherty 137 

Statement  of  W.  H.  Beades 

G.  C.  Dunlap's  Experience 151 

Judge  S.  Smith  Describes  the  Fire 155 

Root's  Testimonial  1 59 

Heroic  J.  Blair 161 

Conductor  Powers 165 

Engineer  Best  Speaks 166 

Fireman  Ford  Writes 1 73 

Geo.  S.  Cole  Tells  What  he  Saw 176 

Conductor  Campbell  Reports 177 

E.  Barry's  Description 179 

Brakeman  Freeman 183 

Fireman  Thistle   186 

Heroes  Remembered — 

Pine  City 189 

Rush  City 211 

Duluth 233 

St.  Cloud '.  .    265 

Mora ...    277 

Superior 289 

What  Duluth  People  Did 297 

Two  Harbors 317 

Report  of  St.  Paul  Relief  Committee 321 

Mankato 373 

Legislation 377 

Correspondence 385 

Adventures 397 

What  Corporations  Did 399 

Wisconsin 403 

Report  of  State  Commission 413 


ILLUSTRATIONS  AND  PHOTOGRAPHS. 

Rev.  Wm.  Wilkinson i 

Photos,  Governor  Nelson    8 

Wreck  of  Saw  Mill 22 

Pond  and  Bridge,  Brook  Park 26 

Dr.  Kelsey,  and  Aid.  De  Leo 30 

Before  the  Fire 34 

J.  D.  Markham 4° 

New  Hinckley 44 

Gravel  Pit 46 

Rev  P.  Knudsen  and  wife 50 

Great  Northern  Round  House 54 

Best  and  Ford 58 

Seeking  the  Dead 62 

Photos  66 

Photos  of  trainmen 72 

Quarry  at  Sandstone 7^ 

Proto  of  Rev.  A.  Ryan,  D.  C.  L So 

Kettle  River   ." 82 

Photos   84 

Rev.  E.  Anderson 90 

Ruins    94 

Quarry  Store 98 

Rev.  Prof.  Poole,  M.  A 100 

The  Lovell  Family 114 

Unknown  Dead 1 16 

Father  Burke,  M.  A 126 

James  Root 1 30 

Root's  Engine 134 

Photos   138 

Blair  and  Broady 140 

Barry  and  Powers 144 

Barry's    Engine 148 

Cowan  and  Holt 152 

Clearing  the  Tracks 156 

Best's  Engine ...  160 

Sandstone  Bridge   164 

Father  Lawler 168 

Finding  the  Dead 1 72 

410 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES.  411 

The  Effect  of  Heat 174 

St.  Mary's  Hospital 178 

St  Luke''s  Hospital 180 

J.  S.  Howard 184 

Williams  and  Beach  188 

Captain  Harris  and  Judge  Xetheway.    190 

Death  on  the  Road 194 

A.  Berg,  Stockholm  family 198 

C.  F.  Robel,  D.  Watson : 200 

C.  C.  Salter,  M.  A 204 

Photos    210 

J.  F.  Stone,  J.  T.  Mannix 214 

Photos    220 

Bishop  Gilbert 224 

P.  B.  Winston 228 

Ray    Lewis 234 

E.  "C.  Gridley 238 

Bishop  McGollrick,  D.  D 242 

Photos    246 

Photos    250 

Photos    254 

Photos    260 

Col.    Graves 264 

Mayor    Bruckhart , 268 

Photos    272 

H.   H.   Hart 276 

Bishop    Whipple 280 

Rev.  Father  Bejec 284 

Mayor  Woodward  and  Mayor  Starkweather 288 

Rev.  J.  H.  Nason 292 

Lord    Mount-Stephen .  , 296 

Mrs.  E.  M.  Bangs 300 

Nevers  and  Leland 304 

Tackson  and  McLean 308 

Mrs.  A.  M.  Miller 312 

J.  J.  Hill 316 

Mayor   Smith 322 

Lightner  and  Benz 326 

Peet  and  Kelly 330 

Kenneth    Clark 334 

W.  H.  Eustis 340 

Miss  Kriedt  and  Mrs.  Smith 346 

Gjertsen   and  Hoyt 350 

Skunk   Lake 356 

Gathering  the   Dead 364 


412 


MINNESOTA  FOREST  FIRES. 


C.   A.    PlLLSBURY. 


REPORT  OF  THE  STATE  COMMISSION. 


FOR  THE  RELIEF  OF  THE  FOREST  FIRE  SUFFERERS. 


To  His  Excellency,  Knute  Nelson,  Governor  of  Minnesota: 

On  Saturday,  Sept.  i,  1894,  occurred  one  of  the  .most  dreadful  cal- 
amities which  this  country  has  ever  seen.  Owing  to  the  long  pro- 
tracted drought,  forest  fires  had  prevailed  in  different  localities  for 
several  weeks,  but  on  that  day  the  wind  suddenly  rose  to  a  tornado, 
and  a  small  fire  which  was  burning  near  Brown's  Hill  spread  with 
frightful  rapidity,  and  was  carried  on  the  wings  of  the  tornado  over 
a  district  covering,  probably,  from  three  hundred  and  fifty  to  four 
hundred  square  miles.  Almost  without  warning,  the  fire  swept  over 
the  villages  of  Mission  Creek,  Hinckley,  Pokegama,  Sandstone,  Fin- 
layson  and  Miller.  A  furnace  blast  swept  over  the  fated  district 
and  left  behind  it  absolute  devastation.  Every  building  in  Hinck- 
ley and  Sandstone,  with  one  or  two  unimportant  exceptions,  was 
completely  destroyed.  Nearly  every  farmhouse  was  destroyed,  with 
barns,  crops  and  supplies,  and  in  most  cases,  live  stock.  The  material 
loss  will  probably  approximate  $750,000,  in  addition  to  the  timber 
destroyed,  but  this  is  a  small  matter  compared  with  the  dreadful  loss 
of  life.  So  sudden  was  the  onset  of  the  flames  that  the  people  could 
only  rush  from  their  houses  and  seek  a  place  of  refuge,  without  even 
an  effort  to  save  their  household  goods  and  personal  effects.  Four 
hundred  and  eighteen  persons,  comprising  about  one-sixth  of  the 
entire  population  of  the  burnt  district,  are  known  to  have  perished  by 
a  most  frightful  death  in  the  flames.  A  great  many  families  lost  one 
or  more  members,  and  some  families  were  wiped  entirely  out  of  ex- 
istence. The  charred  bodies,  in  most  cases  unrecognizable,were  gath- 
ered up  and  buried  by  tender  hands  after  the  fire. 

The  full  record  of  the  heroic  and  unselfish  endeavors  of  the  people 
to  rescue  one  another  from  threatening  death  can  never  be  fully 
written.  Some  perished  while  striving  to  save  the  lives  of  others. 
The  charred  and  shriveled  hands  of  others  testify  to  their  endeavors 
to  save  their  friends.  A  few  cool  'headed  men  at  Hinckley  saved 
many  lives  by  urging  the  people  to  abandon  everything  and  hasten 
to  the  gravel  pit.  At  Pokegama,  a  little  group  of  people,  who  lay 
stifling  in  a  pool  of  water,  were  preserved  largely  by  the  efforts  of 


2  Report  of  State  Commission. 

one  man  who  went  from  one  to  another,  drenching  them  with  water 
and  encouraging  them  to  hold  out  through  three  dreadful  hours. 

The  conduct  of  the  employes  of  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  and  Eastern 
Minnesota  railways  cannot  be  too  highly  praised.  Engineer  Best 
and  Conductor  Powers  of  the  Eastern  Minnesota  remained  stead- 
fast at  their  posts,  and  made  up  a  train  for  the  rescue  of  the  suf- 
ferers, with  as  much  coolness  as  if  they  were  doing  ordinary  work, 
although  they  knew  that  every  moment's  delay  diminished  tne 
chances  of  their  successful  escape.  Engineer  Root,  Fireman  John 
McGowan,  Conductor  Thomas  Sullivan  and  Porter  John  Wesley 
Blair  of  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  road  were  equally  faithful  to  their 
trusts. 

NTo  less  heroic  were  those  unseen  and  unnoted  examples  of  men 
and  women  in  farmhouses  and  scattered  hamlets,  w'ho  sacrificed 
themselves  in  an  effort  to  preserve  the  lives  of  others.  "Greater  love 
hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay  down  his  life  for  his  friends." 

Before  the  flames  had  died  away,  news  of  the  disaster  had  spread 
abroad.  A  relief  train  was  seni  to  Hinckley  by  the  St.  Paul  &  Du- 
luth Railroad  Company,  with  a  corps  of  physicians,  and  the  first 
party  of  refugees  was  brought  into  Pine  City  albout  2,  o'clock  Sun- 
day morning,  September  ist. 

The  highest  praise  is  due  to  the  citizens  of  Pine  City  for  the 
promptness  and  efficiency  with  which  they  met  the  emergency.  On 
Sunday  morning,  September  2d,  without  any  previous  warning, 
nearly  five  hundred  refugees  poured  into  Pine  City,  a  village  of  a 
thousand  inhabitants.  A  relief  committee  was  immediately  organ- 
ized and  systematic  plans  were  adopted.  When  the  relief  train  from 
St.  Paul,  Minneapolis,  Stillwater,  White  Bear  and  Rush  City  arrived 
at  seven  o'clock  Sunday  evening,  with  blankets,  clothing,  provisions, 
hospital  supplies,  and  a  military  guard,  they  found  literally  nothing 
to  be  done;  all  of  the  sufferers  had  been  fed,  an  eating  house  had 
been  established,  sleeping  quarters  had  been  provided  in  the  court- 
house, schoolhouse,  and  private  families,  and  a  hospital  had  been 
organized  for  the  sick.  Considering  the  resources  of  the  village 
of  Pine  City,  this  was  in  our  judgment  the  most  extraordinary 
achievement  in  the  history  of  this  calamity.  The  local  committee 
at  Pine  City  continued  in  charge  of  the  work  of  relieving  and  caring 
for  the  fire  sufferers  at  that  place  until  the  gth  of  September,  when 
they  requested  the  state  commission  to  relieve  them  of  the  work,  but 
continued  to  assist  the  commission  by  their  united  and  individual 
counsel  and  assistance.  The  Pine  City  committee  received  and  dis- 
bursed $2,522.00,  part  of  which  was  from  local  contributions,  and  part 
was  sent  in  to  the  committee  from  the  outside  points.  Mr. 
James  Hurley  was  chairman  of  the  committee,  and  Hon.  F.  A. 
Hodge  was  treasurer.  Mr.  Albert  Pennington  acted  as  storekeep- 
er for  receiving  and  distributing  supplies,  without  compensation. 
The  use  of  the  Seventh  Day  Adventist  Church  was  generously  fur- 
nished for  a  storehouse,  and  rooms  were  freely  furnished  by  citi- 
zens for  storehouses,  offices,  etc. 


-Report  of  State  Commission.  3 

About  two-thirds  of  the  refugees  from  the  fire  were  taken  to  Du- 
luth  and  West  Superior.  Those  who  went  to  Superior  were  soon 
transferred  to  Duluth,  where  some  twelve  hundred  people  received 
at  least  temporary  relief.  The  action  of  the  people  of  Duluth  was 
no  less  prompt  and  hearty  than  that  of  the  people  of  Pine  City. 
A  relief  committee  was  appointed,  and  the  churches,  the  benevolent 
societies,  the  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Bethel  entered  heartily  into  the 
work.  At  the  Pilgrim  Congregational  Church,  the  news  came  dur- 
ing the  morning  service  that  a  large  ntfmber  of  survivors  were  on 
their  way  to  Duluth ;  the  pastor  pronounced  the  benediction  forth- 
with and  the  people  adjourned  to  the  basement  of  the  church  to  make 
preparations',  and  at  four  o'clock  they  were  prepared  to  feed  and 
lodge  one  hundred  and  twenty  refugees.  A  room  was  stocked  with 
clothing,  a  supply  of  hot  water  was  obtained  from  the  Spalding  House 
for  bathing  purposes,  and  before  night  the  unexpected  guests  were 
comfortably  housed,  clothed  and  cared  for.  Similar  activity  and 
efficiency  were  displayed  by  other  churches  and  organizations.  The 
local  committee  established  headquarters  with  a  force  of  clerks  for 
the  investigation  and  registration  of  each  case.  An  eating  'house  was 
established  at  the  armory  with  accommodations  for  five  hundred 
people,  and  complete  arrangements  for  lodging  and  caring  for  these 
people  were  made  at  the  Berkelman  Block.  A  large  number  was 
cared  for  at  the  Bethel  for  a  considerable  time,  and  a  considerable 
number  in  a  building  fitted  up  by  the  Odd  Fellows. 

When  the  State  Relief  Commission  was  established,  the  Duluth 
local  committee  undertook  to  continue  the  work  of  temporary  relief 
— feeding,  etc.  The  citizens  of  Duluth  raised  about  $13,000  in 
cash,  besides  donations  o'f  lumber,  clothing,  provisions,  etc.,  and  the 
work  was  efficiently  carried  on.  Employment  was  found  for  many 
of  the  fire  sufferers  in  Duluth  and  vicinity,  and  nearly  two  hundred 
people  were  located.  The  rest  were  cared  for  until  sudh  time  as 
they  were  prepared,  either  to  return  to  their  former  homes  in  the 
burned  district,  or  to>  locate  elsewhere.  The  local  committee  was 
made  up  of  the  mayor  and  the  best  business  men  of  the  city,  with 
Hon.  E.  C.  Gridley  as  chairman.  These  gentlemen  gave  several 
weeks'  time  freely  to  the  work.  The  churches  of  the  city,  under 
the  leadership  of  such  clergymen  as  Bishop  James  McGolrick,  Rev'. 
E.  M.  Ncyes  and  Rev.  Dr.  Salter,  did  noble  service. 

The  suffering  by  forest  fires  was  not  entirely  confined  to'  Pine 
county;  great  damage  was  caused  by  fires  in  Mille  Lacs  county  and, 
although  no  lives  were  lost,  three  hundred  and  seventy  people  were 
sufferers  by  fire  to  a  greater  or  less  extent.  Im  Carlton  county  also, 
a  considerable  number  of  people  suffered  serious  loss  by  fires.  Local 
comn  ittees  were  organized  for  the  relief  of  these  people  at  St.  Cloud, 
Cloquet  and  Mora,  all  of  which  did  efficient  work.  A  considerable 
number  of  fire  sufferers  from  the  burned  district  were  taken  to  St. 
Paul  and  Minneapolis,  where  they  received  most  generous  care  at 
the  rards  of  the  local  committees.  The  hospital  facilities  at  Pine 
City  proving  inadequate,  the  more  serious  cases  there  were  trans- 


4:  Report  of  State  Commission. 

ferred  to  Minneapolis,  where  they  were  cared  for  by  the  hospitals, 
free  of  expense. 

At  about  the  same  time  with  the  Hinckley  fire,  forest  fires  occurred 
in  the  vicinity  of  New  York  Mills,  Otter  Tail  county,  and  applications 
were  subsequently  made  for  assistance  by  the  local  relief  committee. 
As  it  appeared  tliat  the  need  was  greater  than  could  be  well  met  by 
tli3  local  organizations,  a  limited  amount  of  aid  was  extended.  Ap- 
plications for  relief  were  received  also  from  Aitku..  Cass,  Crow 
Wing,  Sherburne,  Todd  and  Wadena  counties.  Most  of  these  ap- 
plications were  rejected,  for  the  reason  that  upon  investigation  they 
did  not  seem  to  come  within  the  province  of  the  commission,  but  in 
a  few  cases  of  serious  suffering,  resulting  from  local  forest  fires,  aid 
was  extended. 

At  first  it  was  impracticable  to  adopt  a  thorough  system;  the 
refugees  came  in,  destitute  of  everything,  and  it  was  necessary,  first 
of  all,  to  feed  the  hungry  and  cloth  the  naked.  Clothing  was  given 
out  freely,  according  to  the  evident  and  immediate  needs  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  all  fire  sufferers  were  fed,  but  after  two  or  three  days  a  sys- 
tematic plan  of  registration  was  adopted,  both  in  Duluth  and  Pine 
City.  A  system  of  issuing  clothing  and  other  supplies,  on  duly 
authorized  requisitions,  was  adopted,  and  an  effort  was  made  to 
regulate  the  relief  given,  according  to  the  needs  of  the  individual. 

It  soon  became  apparent,  owing  to  the  magnitude  of  the  disaster 
and  the  fact  that  the  sufferers  were  scattered  in  so  many  different 
places,  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  have  some  general  agency  estab  - 
lished  to  oversee  the  work  of  caring  for  the  sufferers.  Accordingly, 
Governor  Xelson,  Sept.  3,  1894,  appointed  the  State  Commission 
for  the  relief  of  fire  sufferers,  under  the  following  proclamation : 

RELIEF  PROCLAMATION. 

Information  of  an  official  character  has  reached  me  that  the  villages 
of  Hinckley,  Sandstone,  Mission  Creek,  and  the  neighboring  towns 
and  farms  have  been  destroyed  by  forest  fires;  that  hundreds  of 
lives  have  been  sacrificed,  and  suffering  and  destitution  are  on  every 
hand ;  that  the  survivors  of  this  terrible  devastation  are  in  immediate 
need  of  food,  shelter  and  everything  that  makes  existence  possible. 

This  appalling  disaster  appeals  to  every  heart  of  generous  im- 
pulses, and  the  case  is  one  that  demands  the  immediate  and  liberal 
assistance  of  all  good  citizens  of  this  state. 

Now,  Therefore,  I,  Knute  Nelson,  governor  of  the  State  of  Min- 
nesota, in  view  of  this  awful  calamity  which  has  befallen  our  people, 
and  by  virtue  of  the  authority  in  me  vested,  do  hereby  appeal  to  all 
liberal  and  public-spirited  citizens,  to  all  municipalities  and  to  all 
religious  and  benevolent  institutions  of  this  state,  to  take  immediate 
action  toward  securing  contributions  for  the  relief  of  the  prevailing 
distress. 

I  hereby  appoint  the  following  State  Commission,  authorized  to  re- 


Report  of  State  Commission  5 

ceive  contributions  of  money  and  supplies,  and  to  spend  and  dis- 
burse the  same: 

C.  A.  Pillsbury,  of  Minneapolis;  Kenneth  Clark,  of  St.  Paul; 
Charles  H.  Graves,  of  Duluth,  Matthew  G.  Norton,  of  Winona, 
Hastings  H.  Hart,  of  St.  Paul. 

In  Witness  Whereof,  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  caused  to 
be  affixed  the  great  seal  of  the  State  of  Minnesota,  at  the  capitol,  in 
the  city  of  St.  Paul,  this  3d  day  of  September,  A.  D.  1894. 

KXUTE  NELSON. 
F.  P.  BROWN,  Secretary  of  State. 

The  commission  organized  at  St.  Paul,  Sept.  5,  1894,  by  electing 
C.  A.  Pillsbury,  chairman,  Kenneth  Clark,  treasurer,  and  H.  H. 
Hart,  secretary,  and  requested  Governor  Nelson  to  act  as  a  member 
of  the  commission,  to  which  he  consented.  It  was  agreed  to  pro- 
ceed immediately  to  visit  Hinckley,  Duluth  and  Pine  City,  in  order 
that  the  commission  might  ascertain  what  was  neccessary  to  'be  done. 
The  commission  visited  Duluth,  Sept.  6,  1894,  where  they  found  the 
work  of  the  local  committee  thoroughly  and  efficiently  organized, 
and  after  a  full  conference,  it  was  agreed  that  the  Duluth  local  com- 
mittee should  continue  to  care  for  the  immediate  wants  of  all  fire 
sufferers  in  Duluth,  but  that  the  work  of  permanent  relief  should  be 
delegated  to  the  State  Relief  Commission.  They  visited  Hinckley 
and  Pine  City,  Sept.  7th,  and  it  was  agreed  there,  as  in  Duluth,  that 
the  local  committee  should  undertake  the  temporary  relief  of  the 
fire  sufferers,  while  the  work  of  permanent  relief  should  be  delegated 
to  the  State  Commission.  On  Sept.  nth,  however,  at  the  request 
of  the  Pine  City  local  committee,  the  State  Commission  assumed 
charge  of  both  permanent  and  temporary  relief  at  that  place.  The 
Pine  City  committee  co-operated  heartily  with  the  State  Commission 
at  every  point,  and  the  most  satisfactory  relations  existed  between  the 
two  agencies.  As  soon  as  practicable,  the  headquarters  of  the  com- 
mission were  removed  from  Pine  City  to  Hinckley,  for  convenience 
in  superintending  the  work  of  locating  and  building  for  the  fire  suffer- 
ers. 

As  soon  as  the  news  of  the  disaster  spread,  supplies  of  all  kinds 
began  to  pour  in  from  every  direction  in  great  quantities.  Clothing 
(new  and  second  hand),  bedding  and  furniture,  flour  and  groceries, 
meats,  bread,  milk,  medicines  and  hospital  supplies  poured  in  abun- 
dantly. The  warehouse  facilities  at  Hinckley  and  Pine  City  were 
so  inadequate  that  it  was  necessary  to  establish  depots  of  supplies  at, 
Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul,  where  the  donations  could  be  assorted  and 
classified  and  forwarded  in  suitable  quantities  as  needed.  The  larger 
part  of  the  supplies  from  abroad  were  sent  to  St.  Paul,  where  the 
work  of  assorting  and  classifying  them  was  admirably  systemized  by 
the  local  committee,  thus  making  the  goods  much  more  useful  than 
they  we  uld  otherwise  have  been.  Careful  accounts  were  kept  of  the 
quantities  and  estimated  values  of  the  goods  received.  The  values 


6  Report  of  State  Commission. 

of  the  donated  supplies  that  passed  through  the  St.  Paul  warehouse 
is  estimated  at  $22,000.  That  this  valuation  was  not  fictitious,  was 
shown  by  the  fact  that  a  dealer  in  second-hand  clothing  offered  $5,000 
for  the  clothing  on  hand  at  one  time. 

C(  nsiderable  clothing  and  other  supplies  were  shipped  directly  to 
Hh.ckley  and  Pine  City.  All  of  the  railroad  companies  and  ex- 
press companies  carried  these  supplies  free  of  charge. 

The  popular  proverb  says  that  "corporations  have  no  souls,"  but 
an  exception  must  be  made  in  favor  of  the  St.  Paul  &  Duluth  Rail- 
road Cc  mpany  and  the  Eastern  Minnesota  Railway  Company.  The 
officers  and  employes  of  these  corporations  'were  unremitting  in  their 
efforts  to  assist  the  work  of  relief,  and,  although  making  strenuous 
efforts  to  repair  the  immense  damage  suffered  by  the  roads  and  to 
restore  traffic,  they  did  not  hesitate  to  attend  to  the  transportation  of 
fire  sufferers  and  supplies  for  their  relief  in  preference  to  their  own 
business.  Nothing  was  left  undone  that  could  be  done  by  either  of 
these  companies,  and  the  requests  of  the  commission  were  honored 
in  all  cases.  All  of  the  railroad  companies  centering  in  the  North- 
west, as  well  as  the  express  companies,  furnished  free  transportation 
for  supplies.  The  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company  and  the 
North  American  Telegraph  Company  placed  their  facilities  at  the 
disposal  of  the  commission,  without  limit  and  without  charge. 

The  commission  would  have  been  glad  to  make  due  acknowledg- 
ment for  all  supplies  received,  but  this  is  impossible,  for  the  reason 
that  a  large  proportion  of  the  packages  afforded  no  clue  to  the  names, 
or  even  the  residence  of  the  senders,  and  the  goods  being  carried  free, 
were  not  accompanied,  in  many  cases,  by  the  usual  freight  bill.  Even 
five  carloads  of  flour  were  received  without  indications  of  the  source 
from  which  they  came. 

In  addition  to  the  large  quantities  of  second-hand  clothing,  etc., 
the  following  donations  were  received,  which  were  equivalent  to 
crsh: 

From  citizens  of  Duluth,  lumber $775.00 

From  citizens  of   Minneapolis,    lumber 2,050. CO 

From  citizens  of  Winona,  lumber 1,200.00 

From  citizens  of  St.  Paul,  lumber 75.00 

From  citizens  of  Anaka,  lumber 560.00 

From  citizens  of  Stillwater,  lumber,  value  estimated 200.00 

From  Cloquet  Lumber  Company,  lumber 130.00 

Total   lumber   donations $5,590.00 

From  citizens  of  Mankato,  pork $135.00 

From  citizens  of  Shakopee,  stoves,  flour  and  pork 550.00 

From  citizens  of  Grand  Forks,  two  cars  flour 700.00 

From  citizens  of  Moorhead  and  other  places  not  reported,   five  cars  of 

flour    1,750.0* 


Report  of  State  Commission.  7 

From  J.  M.  Danelz,  Swift  Falls,  flour 70.00 

From  merchants  of  Minneapolis,  new  merchandise  855.00 

From  Potter  Palmer,  Chicago,  new  suits  of  good  clothing  and  blankets..         300.00 
From  Montgomery,  Ward  &  'Co.,  Chicago,  500  pairs  excellent  shoes,  deliv- 
ered by  express  to  each  recipient  750.00 

From  citizens  of  Atwater,  one  car  wheat,  sold  and  acknowledged 

as  a  cash  donation $36959 

From  citizens  of  Warren,  one  car  wheat,  sold  and  acknowledged 

as  a  cash  donation   478.10 


Total  (not  including  wheat)  $10,700.00 

CASH   RECEIPTS  AND   DISBURSEMENTS. 

(See  Exhibits  "A"  and  "B.") 
The  treasurer  of  the  commission  has  received  cash  as  follows: 

From  foreign  countries,  England  and  Canada $11,600.00 

From  the  United  States,  except  Minnesota 14,711.19 

From   Minnesota    70,147.50 


Total  cash  donations  $96,458.69 

From  sales  of  lumber  and  material  to  fire  sufferers 2,018.15 

Cash  borrowed  by  the  commission  15.0C0.09 

Total  cash   received   $113,476.84 

Disbursements. 

Cash  allowances  to  individual  fire  sufferers $23,204.61 

Building  material  and  labor  erecting  buildings 35,322.33 

Outfitting  families— clothing,  furniture,  hardware,  etc 22,238.61 

Temporary  relief— provisions,  feed,  medical  attendance,  etc 14,848.42 

Miscellaneous  expenditures— labor,  cows,  plowing,  freight,  etc 4,073.20 

Administration— salaries  and  expenses  of  agents,  clerks  and  storekeepers.  5,156.73 

Total    disbursements $104,843.95 

leaving  in  the  treasurer's  hands  December  31,  1894 *8,632.89 


*The  treasurer  has  disbursed,  since  Jan.  1,  1895,  $3,926.16,  leaving  a  balance  on 
hand,  Jan.  21,  1895,  of  $4,706.72. 

In  addition  to  the  cash  received  and  disbursed  by  the  State  Com- 
mission, the  local  committees  in  different  parts  of  the  state  have 
received  and  disbursed  money  for  the  relief  of  fire  sufferers,  as  fol- 
lows: (See  Exhibit  "C") 

TEMPORARY  RELIEF  BY  LOCAL,  COMMITTEES. 

Minneapolis,  by  Hon.  Wm.  H.  Eustis,  mayor $3,652.46 

St.  Paul,  temporary  relief  by  the  local  committee 1,500.01 

Pine  City,  temporary  relief,  burials,  etc.,  by  the  local  committee 1,372.72 

St.  Cloud,  local  committee,  relief  of  sufferers  at  Milaca  and  Pot  agama . . .  1,254.46 


8  Report  of  State  Commission. 

Stillwater,  local  committee,  relief  extended  by  local  committee  direct  to 

fire  sufferers  at  Hinckley  and  vicinity 2,800.00 

Cloquet,  local  committee,  relief  extended  to  fire  sufferers  in  Carlton 

county  989.85 

Mora,  local  committee,  relief  extended  to  fire  sufferers  (no  report) 

Duluth,  local  committee,  temporary  relief,  feeding,  lodging,  clothing,  etc.  *11,850.00 

White  Bear,  local  committee,  cash  expended  (in  addition  to  $196.17,  sent  to 

Pine  City)  14G.24 


Total 

'Approximate  estimate,  detailed  report  not  yet  received. 

It  appears,  therefore,  that  the  total  cash  disbursements  for  the  re- 
lief of  the  sufferers  by  fire  so  far  as  reported  up  to  December  31, 
1894,  were  $128,409.  The  entire  cash  value  of  the  relief  extended 
may  be  estimated  as  follows: 

Cash  disbursed  by  the  State  Relief  Commission $104,844 

Lumber,  flour,  etc.,  handled  by  the  State  Commission 10,700 

Second-hand  clothing,  etc.,  handled  through  the  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis 

warehouses  22,000 

Second-hand  clothing,  etc.,  shipped  direct  to  Pine  City  and  Hinckley  (esti' 

mated)     3,000 

Total  value  of  the  cash  and  supplies  handled  by  the  Stata  Commission. $140, 544 

Cash  disbursed  by  the  local  committees  at  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul, 

Duluth,  Pine  City,  St.  Cloud  and  Stillwater $23,566 

Second-hand  clothing,  etc.,  distributed  by  these  committees,  esti- 
mated    7,434 


Total  value  of  cash  and  supplies  distributed  by  local  committees £31,000 

Estimated    value    of    free    transportation    furnished    by    St.    Paul    & 

Duluth  Railroad  and  the  Eastern  Minnesota  Railway $11,200 

Estimated  value  of  free  transportation  furnished  by  other  railroads..      2,000 


Total   free   transportation $13,200 

Grand  total  estimated  value  of  relief  furnished  to  fire  sufferers $184,744 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  total  administration  expenses  of  the  State 
Commission  in  distributing  relief  to  the  amount  of  $140,544  (,iot  in- 
cluding- railroad  transportation  which  might  very  properly  hai  e  been 
added),  was  $5,157,  which  is  3.7  per  cent. 

The  foregoing  statement  is  very  far  from  covering  the  total  value 
of  the  relief  extended  to  the  fire  sufferers,  much  of  which  cannot  be 
measured  in  dollars  and  cents.  The  personal  services  of  leading 
citizens  of  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis,  Duluth,  Pine  City,  Rush  City,  St. 
Cloud,  Mora,  Hinckley  and  New  York  Mills  were  freely  given;  and 


Report  of  State  Commission.  9 

in  some  cases  for  weeks,  and  even  months,  without  reward.  The  St 
Paul  &  Duluth  Railroad  Company  gave  an  extension  of  time  on  all 
its  land  contracts,  and  in  addition  thereto  credited  up  on  the  contract 
of  each  purchaser  the  entire  value  of  the  improvements  placed  upon 
his  land  by  the  State  Commission  as  a  cash  payment.  The  amount 
thus  allowed  to  28  settlers  was  $3,629.  In  many  cases  this  credit 
wiped  out  all,  or  nearly  all  of  the  indebtedness  under  the  contract, 
leaving  the  purchaser  owner  of  his  land  in  fee  simple.  Markham  & 
Kelsey,  at  Pokegama,  gave  an  extension  of  time  on  all  tkeir  con- 
tracts and  donated  to  each  purchaser  a  small  tract  of  land  in  fee 
simple  on  which  to  place  his  buildings.  Laird  &  Boyle,  of  Mission 
Creek,  John  D.  Ludden,  F.  A.  Hodge,  and  other  land  owners,  made 
liberal  concessions  to  fire  sufferers  holding  contracts  with  them. 
The  Western  Land  Company  canceled  a  mortgage  on  a  widow's  lot 
in  order  to  give  her  a  clear  title  to  her  home.  The  Sandstone  Town- 
site  Company  sold  lots  to  sufferers  at  $25  each,  donating  in  each 
case  a  piece  of  ground  48x50  feet  in  fee  simple  on  which  to  build. 
The  Minneapolis  Trust  Company  donated  lots  to  all  fire  sufferers 
who  wished  to  build  on  the  new  townsite  in  Sandstone.  About  50 
beautiful  building  lots  were  so  donated.  Mr.  James  J.  Hill,  besides 
a  cash  donation  of  $5,000,  offered  5,000  acres  of  land  in  4O-acre  tracts 
to  fire  sufferers,  conditioned  only  upon  actual  settlement  upon  the 
land.  The  Rutledge  Lumber  Company  offered  employment  to  20 
heads  of  families  and  the  citizens  of  Rutledge  donated  the  funds  to 
purchase  a  lot  for  each  family.  These  lots  were  finely  located, 
within  one  block  of  the  school-house,  and  the  fire  sufferers  who  went 
to  Rutledge  were  generously  treated. 

In  deciding  upon  the  principles  to  be  followed  in  the  work  of  re- 
lief, as  indeed  in  the  entire  work  of  the  commission,  there  has  been 
complete  unanimity  among  the  members  of  the  commission.  In 
every  case  they  have  been  able  to  reach  a  unanimous  conclusion. 
Having  decided  upon  the  general  rules  to'  be  followed,  the  details 
of  the  work  have  been  committed  to  the  agents  of  the  commission, 
and  individual  cases  have  not  usually  been  considered  by  the  com- 
mission except  where  the  agents  were  in  doubt  as  to  what  course 
should  be  pursued. 

The  commission  decided,  in  the  first  place,  that  it  was  not  its 
province  to  act  as  ail  insurance  agency,  or  to  undertake  to  make 
good  the  losses  of  fire  sufferers;  but  that  their  action  must  be  regu- 
lated by  the  necessities  of  the  case,  rather  than  by  the  magnitude  of 
the  loss.  At  the  same  time,  it  was  the  view  of  the  commission  that 
they  ought  not  as  a  rule  to  extend  aid  to  such  an  extent  as  to  make 
the  individual  much  better  off  than  he  was  before  the  fire,  unless  it 
was  necessary  to  do  so  in  order  to  prevent  absolute  suffering. 

The  commission  regarded  themselves  as  the  agents  of  the  donors 
in  extending  friendly  aid  to  those  who  had  been  overtaken  by  a 
mighty,  but  temporary,  misfortune.  The  sufferers  by  fire  were,  al- 
most without  exception,  industrious,  self-supporting  people  and  they 


10  Report  of  State  Commission. 

felt  that  aid  ought  to  'be  extended  in  a  neighborly  and  friendly  spirit, 
and  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  impair  the  self-respect  or  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  recipient.  The  agents  of  the  commission  were  in>- 
structed  to  maintain  this  attitude  towards  these  unfortunate  people. 
This  seemed  to  us  the  more  important,  for  the  reason  that  in  addi- 
tion to  the  loss  of  all  their  possessions  and  the  physical  and  nervous 
shock  produced  by  the  terrible  ordeal  through  which  they  had 
passed,  many  of  them  mourned  the  loss  of  dear  friends  and  were 
deeply  sensitive  and  sore-hearted. 

We  have  considered  it  a  matter  of  chief  importance  to  render  such 
assistance  as  should  restore  these  people  to  a  condition  of  self-sup- 
port and  relieve  them  as  speedily  as  possible  from  a  dependent  con- 
dition; and  it  gives  us  much  pleasure  to  report  that  in  most  cases 
the  relief  given  has  been  instrumental  in  accomplishing  this  result, 
and  that  a  large  majority  of  the  peoole  who  have  been  assisted  are 
now  in  a  position  of  self-support.  It  has  been  a  cause  o-f  grief  to  the 
commission  to  see  some  of  the  people  who  were  at  first  unwilling  to 
accept  any  aid  with  which  they  could  dispense,  gradually 
lose  their  spirit  of  independence  and  become  willing,  and  even  eager, 
to  take  all  they  can  get.  It  is  a  great  misfortune  when  what  is  in- 
tended to  assist  the  unfortunate  becomes  an  actual  damage  to  them. 

We  were  of  the  opinion  that  no  form  of  relief  could  be  more 
helpful  than  employment;  accordingly,  we  instructed  ooir  agents  to 
employ  fire  sufferers  to  the  fullest  possible  extent.  The  following  is 
a  statement  of  the  amounts  paid  for  salaries  and  wages,  showing 
what  proportion  was  paid  to  fire  sufferers: 

AMOUNTS  PAID.  PAID  SUFFERERS. 

Workmen  on  buildings $8,921.55  $3,248.19 

Cash  building  allowances  I-553-01  ^SSS-01 

Laborers    1,514.90  1,350.90 

Cookhouse  crews 655.88  289.58 

Stockyard  crews  31  i.oo  311.00 

Administration,  salaries 4,857.75  1,217.01 


Totals  $17,814.69  $7,970.29 

It  will  be  seen  that  of  the  $2,480  paid  laborers,  cookhouse  and 
stockyard  crews,  $1,950,  or  80  per  cent.,  was  paid  to  fire  sufferers, 
and  of  the  $10,475  Paid  workmen  on  buildings,  $4,800,  or  48  per 
cent.,  was  paid  to  fire  sufferers.  Of  the  $4,857  paid  for  administra- 
tion, $1,217,  or  25  per  cent,  was  paid  to  fire  sufferers.  And  of  the 
total  amount,  $17,814.69,  paid  out  for  services  of  all  kinds,  $7,970.29, 
or  45  per  cent.,  was  paid  to  fire  sufferers. 

The  completeness  of  the  loss  and  the  resulting  destitution,  together 
with  the  near  approach  of  winter,  increased  the  greatness  of  the  need ; 
and  the  agents  of  the  commission  were  instructed  to  pursue  a  gen- 
erous policy  and  to  err,  if  at  all,  on  the  side  of  liberality. 


Report  of  State  Commission.  11 

It  was  the  desire  of  the  commission  to  secure,  if  possible,  to  the 
beneficiaries  the  permanent  enjoyment  of  the  donations  of  their  fel- 
low citizens.  The  secretary  of  the  commission,  therefore,  was  in- 
structed to  employ  a  competent  attorney  and  to  make  sure,  as  far 
as  possible,  that  those  for  whom  houses  were  built  either  owned  their 
ground  in  fee  simple  or  had  such  liberal  contracts  as  would  give  a 
reasonable  assurance  that  they  would  be  able  to  secure  title  to  their 
land.  Land  companies  and  owners  of  land  were  induced  to  extend 
their  contracts  so  as  to  give  ample  time  to  purchasers.  Squatters 
were  assisted  to  procure  land  of  their  own,  and  it  is  believed  that  al- 
most every  house  built  by  the  assistance  of  the  commission  is  a  se- 
cure possession  to  its  occupant. 

The  commission  felt  that  they  ought  to  encourage  the  people  as 
far  as  their  circumstances  would  admit,  to  return  to  their  former 
homes,  but  where  a  removal  seemed  imperative  they  ought  to  facili- 
tate it  as  far  as  possible.  In  those  cases  where  it  was  evident  that 
the  people  must  go  elsewhere  in  order  to  maintain  themselves,  it  was 
decided  to  make  a  cash  allowance,  amounting  usually  to  from  $20 
to  $25  for  each  member  of  the  family,  but  varying  somewhat  accord- 
ing to  their  peculiar  circumstances.  Able-bodied  men  were  fitted 
out  with  a  suit  of  clothes  and  a  small  amount  of  money. 

For  those  who  decided  to  remain  in  the  burned  district  it  was  nec- 
essary to  provide  shelter,  and  the  following  general  rules  were  adopt- 
ed in  dealing  with  them:  People  who  had  fire  insurance  were  no- 
tified that  the  commission  would  not  undertake  to  build  houses  for 
them  unless  they  furnish  satisfactory  evidence  that  the  money  re- 
ceived for  fire  insurance  was  so  far  consumed  in  meeting  pressing 
debts  that  they  were  not  able  to  make  such  provision  for  themselves 
as  the  commission  was  making  for  others.  For  people  who  had 
homes  of  their  own  before  the  fire,  the  commission  decided  to  builcl 
a  frame  house,  16x24  feet,  boarded  on  the  studding,  then  papered 
and  covered  with  drop  siding  en  the  outside.  These  houses  were 
built  one-story  or  a  stoiy  and  a  half  high,  according  to  the  size  of 
the  family.  It  was  found  that  many  of  the  people  had  before  the 
fire  only  a  small  house  or  '"shack,"  representing  in  many  cases  a  very 
small  cost.  To  such  people  building  material  was  furnished  to  the 
value  of  from  $40  to  $100,  to  enable  the  individual  to  build  for 
himself.  In  many  cases  the  commission  furnished  carpenters  to 
assist  in  building  such  small  houses.  In  the  case  of  single  men  it 
was  decided  not  to  build  houses  for  them  unless  they  owned  houses 
before  the  fire;  but  in  the  case  of  married  men,  even  though  they 
had  no  house  before  the  fire,  it  was  decided  to  render  some  assistance 
in  building  (usually  from  $50  to  $75),  providing  it  was  made  clear 
that  they  intended  to  live  in  the  burned  district,  for  the  reason  that 
there  were  no  houses  to  rent,  and  it  was  necessary  for  them  to  have 
shelter.  In  two  or  three  cases  the  commission  built  houses  for 
young  men  who  were  not  strictly  -entitled  to  them,  for  the  reason  that 


12  Eeport  of  State  Commission. 

they  had  intended  marrying  before  the  fire ;  which  intention  has  since 
been  carried  out. 

As  far  as  possible,  the  commission  insisted  that  whatever  buildings 
were  constructed  by  their  assistance  should  be  located;  either  on  land 
owned  by  the  individual  in  fee  simple,  or  on  land  for  which  he  had  a 
liberal  contract  which  would  enable  him  to  secure  his  home  within 
a  reasonable  time.  Homesteaders  on  government  land  were  treated 
as  though  they  owned  the  land.  The  cost  of  the  material  used  in 
the  construction  of  the  ordinary  houses  built,  16x24  feet,  with  posts 
8,  12  or  14  feet,  was  from  $95  to  $150.  In  a  few  cases  of  widows 
with  large  families,  more  expensive  houses  were  built.  As  very  few 
of  the  fire  sufferers  had  teams  it  was  necessary  to  deliver  the  lumber 
on  the  ground,  and  in  some  cases  this  involved  a  heavy  expense,  ow- 
ing to  the  lack  of  bridges  and  the  damage  to  corduroy  roads  by  the 
fire.  The  estimated  cost  of  the  carpenter  work  on  such  houses  was 
$35  Per  house,  and  those  fire  sufferers  who  preferred  to  do  their 
own  work  received  a  cash  allowance  of  $35  for  the  work.  In  prac- 
tice it  was  found  that  the  cost  of  the  carpenter  work  considerably 
exceeded  $35  per  house. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  articles  of  furniture,  etc.,  furnished  by 
the  State  Commission  to  a  family  of  five;  the  outfit  wast  increased 
or  diminished,  according  to  the  size  of  the  family: 

Furniture — Three  bedsteads;  3  w.  w.  springs;  3  excelsior  mat- 
tresses; 3  pair  pillows;  1 2.  wood  chairs;*  i  rocker;  i  drop-leaf  table. 

Hardware — One  No.  9  stove;  I  heating  stove;  5  joints  pipe;  I 
elbow;  i  iron  kettle;  I  fry  pan;  I  tea  kettle;  i  coffee  pot;  I  dish- 
pan;  2  milk  pans;  i  sauce  pan;  I  boiler;  I  washboard;  i  dipper;  i 
water  pail;  6  knives  and  forks;  12  spoons;  6  teaspoons;  I  basting 
spoon;  i  wash  basin;  i  butcher  knife;  i  drip  pan;  i  dust  pan;  i 
broom;  2  flat  irons;  i  one-gallon  can;  i  axe;  i  buck  saw;  I  shovel; 
i  hammer. 

Crockery — Twelve  plates;  6  pint  bowls;  12  cups  and  saucers;  6 
tumblers;  i  ten-inch  platter;  2  seven-inch  vegetable  dishes;  I  glass 
water  pitcher;  i  salt  and  pepper;  i  glass  lamp;  2  chambers. 

Bedding — Four  blankets;  2  comforters;  52  yards  sheeting;  15 
yards  toweling. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  rations  issued  to  a  family  of  five  for  three 
months:  Four  hundred  Ibs.  flour;  7  Ibs.  coffee;  2  Ibs.  tea;  40  Ibs. 
sugar;  2  Ibs.  baking  powder;  2  Ibs.  soda;  i  bu.  beans;  20  Ibs.  rice; 
20  Ibs.  fish;  20  bars,  soap;  4  pkgs.  yeast  cakes;  5  sacks  salt;  i  pkg. 
matches;  I  bluing  bottle;  15  Ibs.  lard;  100  Ibs.  pork;  4  gals,  syrup; 
20  Ibs.  crackers;  2  boxes  pepper;  5  Ibs.  breakfast  food. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  rations  issued  to  a  family  of  five  for  thirty 
days:  Two  hundred  Ibs.  flour;  3  Ibs.  coffee;  15  Ibs.  sugar;  Ib.  tea; 
i  Ib.  baking  powder;  i  Ib.  soda;  1-2  bu.  beans;  10  Ibs.  rice;  8 
Ibs.  fish;  10  bars  soap;  2  pkgs.  yeast;  2  sacks  salt;  i  pkg.  matches;  6 
Ibs.  lard;  i  bottle  bluing;  45  Ibs.  pork;  2  pails  jelly;  i  gal.  syrup; 
8  Ibs.  crackers;  i  box  pepper;  3  Ibs.  breakfast  food. 


Report  of  State  Commission.  13 

tration  of  the  sufferers  by  fire.  Blanks  were  carefully  prepared  for 
use  at  Duluth,  Pine  City,  Hinckley,  Sandstone  and  Milaca.  A  de- 
tailed record  was  made  of  each  case,  showing  the  names  and  ages 
of  members  of  the  family,  social  condition,  residence  before  the  fire, 
losses  by  fire,  property  before  the  fire,  property  saved,  insurance 
and  other  resources,  needs  and  desires,  reference  and  address  of 
friends,  together  with  a  record  of  the  assistance  given.  In  order  to 
secure  an  accurate  registration  and  avoid  imposition,  fire  sufferers 
who  had  a  large  acquaintance  in  the  burned  district  were  employed 
to  assist  in  the  registration.  The  local  committee  at  Hinckley,  and 
other  citizens  of  Hinckley,  Pokegama,  Mission  Creek,  Sandstone 
and  Pine  City,  rendered  great  service  in  securing  an  accurate  and 
reliable  registration.  The  St.  Cloud  committee  took  charge  of 
the  registration  at  Milaca,  which  was  performed  in  the  most  ac- 
curate and  systematic  manner. 

Exhibit  "E,"  appended  to  this  report,  comprises  a  complete  list 
of  all  persons  registered  by  the  commission,  showing  the  number 
resident  in  the  burned  district,  the  number  non-resident,  the  num- 
ber who  received  assistance,  and  the  number  who  received  no  as- 
sistance. The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  registration: 


DISTRICT. 

=1 

ji 

Individuals 
Included. 

—  tc  03 

li  -  L 

1 

l-.nnc.iiey  

440 

1,038 

910 

128           921 

117 

Vicinity  of  Hinckley  

58 

183 

171 

12           181 

2 

Sandstone  

152 

498 

418 

80           420 

78 

Pokegama  

.  ...        36 

131 

105 

26           129 

2 

33 

75 

69 

6            67 

g 

Sandstone  Junction  and  Millar  

21 

69     . 

69     .. 

28 

94 

85 

9            85 

9 

Partridg-e  

19 

59 

53 

6            39 

20 

Rutledge  

3 

14 

14    . 

11 

8 

Mora  

11 

56 

56    . 

28 

28 

4 

9 

9 

9 

Scattering  

33 

123 

86 

37            67 

56 

Total  for  Hinckley  district  

838 

2,350 

2,045 

304       2,026 

323 

Mille  Lacs  countv  

89 

370 

370    . 

370    .. 

33 

123 

1            70 

51 

18 

89 

89 

75 

14 

Morrison  county  

10 

46 

46     . 

46    .. 

Wadena  county  

7 

36 

36     . 

36     .. 

Aitkin  county  

13 

55 

55     . 

55 

Cass  county  

3 

13 

13     . 

13     .. 



Total  registration  1,011       3,081       2,775 


L4  Report  of  State  Commission. 

The  foregoing  registration  includes:  Single  men,  344;  single 
women,  33;  widows,  49  (whose  families  include  145  persons);  wid- 
owers, 59  (whose  families  include  143  persons);  orphans,  4.  The 
number  of  widows  created  by  the  fire  was  21.  The  number  of  wid- 
owers created  was  22.  The  number  of  farmers  registered  in  the 
Hinckley  burned  district  was  151,  and  in  the  outlying  counties  was 
164,  making  a  total  of  314  farmers. 

It  will  be  observed  that  out  of  the  3,082  persons  registered  305 
were  non-residents  at  the  time  of  the  fire.  Most  of  these  are  mem- 
bers of  families  where  the  head  of  the  family  was  in  the  burned  dis- 
trict For  example,  Fritz  Droel,  foreman  in  the  mill  of  the  Bren- 
nan  Lumber  Company,  who  was  burned  to  death,  left  a  family  at 
Eau  Claire,  Wis.,  to  whom  some  assistance  was  given.  Louis 
Chambers,  formerly  resident  in  South  Dakota,  had  come  into  the 
burned  district  and  had  taken  a  piece  of  land,  on  which  he  was 
building  a  house.  He  had  removed  his  furniture,  team  and  effects, 
and  his  family  in  South  Dakota  were  awaiting  the  completion  of 
the  house  in  order  to  remove  to  Minnesota.  He  was  destroyed  by 
fire  with  all  his  property,  and  his  family  were  left  destitute  in  South 
Dakota.  They  received  assistance  and  are  included  in  the  regis- 
tration. Thomas  Henderson,  residing  at  Pine  City,  was  at  work 
with  his  two  sons  in  the  burned  district.  The  sons  were  burned 
to  death  and  the  father's  hands  were  terribly  burned  in  trying  to  save 
them,  disabling  him  for  several  months,  and  his  family  received 
relief,  although  non-resident. 

Some  people  received  relief  from  the  commission  who  lost  neither 
houses,  stock  nor  provisions,  for  the  reason  that  their  means  of  a 
livelihood  was  destroyed.  Most  of  the  people  aided  at  Milaca  were 
of  this  class,  having  lost  hay,  wood,  logs,  ties  or  timber,  which  they 
expected  to  sell  for  the  support  of  their  families  during  the  coming 
winter. 

In  registering  more  than  a  thousand  cases,  most  of  them  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  scene  of  the  disaster,  it  is  probable  that  some  impo- 
sition was  practiced,  but  we  do  not  believe  that  one  case  in  one 
hundred  was  of  this  class.  The  question  whether  aid  should  be 
given  in  particular  cases  was  often  a  difficult  one,  especially  where 
the  loss  was  comparatively  small.  It  is  possible  that  aid  may  have 
been  refused  in  some  deserving  cases,  but  we  have  endeavored  to 
err,  if  at  all,  on  the  side  of  liberality ;  and  if  after  careful  inquiry  there 
seemed  reasonable  ground  for  extending  relief,  it  has  been  done. 

The  legislature  has  appropriated  the  sum  of  $20,000  to  reimburse 
the  commission  for  $15,000  advanced  by  them  and  to  make  neces- 
sary temporary  provision,  pending  the  consideration  of  the  question 
whether  any  additional  relief  will  be  necessary.  By  *•  \  i,  1895, 
the  commission  will  have  expended  all,  or  nearly  all,  of  the  $15,000 
borrowed  bv  them.  We  are  now  feeding  about  600  people,  includ- 
ing farmers'  families,  widows'  families  and  villagers  ont  of  work. 
We  are  endeavoring  to  cut  off  these  families  as  fast  as  they  at- 


Report  of  State  Commission.  15 

tain  the  possibility  of  self  support,  but  we  anticipate  that  it  will  be 
necessary  to  feed  about  ooo  people  until  May  ist,  and  to  feed  about 
400  people  (families  of  farmers,  widows-,  e..c.)  until  August  ist,  at 
a  cost  of  about  $6,800.  We  are  now  feeding  about  50  cows,  and  <we 
estimate  the  cost  of  feeding  these  cows  for  three  months  from  Feb- 
ruary ist,  at  about  $600.  We  are  now  feeding  about  15  teams,  and 
we  estimate  the  cost  of  feeding  them  for  six  months  at  $600,  mak- 
ing a  total  probable  expenditure  for  temporary  relief  of  $8,000. 

The  commission  has  been  unable  to  decide  whether  additional 
permanent  aid  should  be  extended  to  these  people.  About  90  cows 
were  burned  in  the  fire;  the  commission  has  given  out  25  cows  and 
has  given  assistance  toward  the  purchase  of  10  more,  making  a  total 
of  35  cows.  There  are  twenty  or  thirty  additional  families  to  which 
a  cow  would  be  a  great  blessing,  but  the  commission  did  not  see 
tlu-ir  way  clear  with  the  means  at  their  disposal  to  furnish  them. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  carry  on  farming  without  some  kind  of 
a  team.  A  few  enterprising  men  have  succeeded  in  obtaining  teams 
for  themselves,  and  in  two  or  three  cases  the  commission  has  as- 
sisted farmers  in  obtaining  teams  in  lieu  of  other  assistance.  If 
the  commission  had  had  the  means  they  would  have  been  glad  to 
furnish  those  who  lost  teams  with  assistance  towards  purchasing  a 
team  to  the  extent  of,  say,  $50,  provided  that  this  donation  would 
have  enabled  them  to  purchase  teams.  The  objection  to  this  plan 
is,  that  it  would  increase  the  disproportion  of  the  amount  of  the 
relief  given  to  the  recipient,  as  compared  with  others.  If  such  teams 
were  purchased  it  would  be  necessary  to  feed  them  until  harvest; 
otherwise  the  owners  would  have  to  leave  their  farms  in  order  to 
earn  feed. 

The  commission  has  considered  seriously  the  question  of  distrib- 
uting forty  or  fifty  sewing  machines.  Means  to  purchase  sewing 
machines  have  been  furnished  to  a  few  women  who  were  accus- 
tomed to  earn  a  livelihood  by  sewing;  but  others  of  this  class  have 
not  been  supplied,  and  many  women  who>  have  1'arge  families  are 
greatly  in  need  of  a  sewing  machine.  Several  cases  have  been 
brought  to  our  notice  of  those  who  have  already  purchased  ma- 
chines on  the  installment  plan  at  from  $40  to'  $60  each.  The  com- 
mission could  purchase  good  reliable  sewing  machines  delivered  at 
Hinckley  for  about  $15  each.  A  list  of  possible  recipients  was 
made  up,  but  the  sewing  machines  were  not  purchased,  on  account 
of  the  limited  amount  of  funds  available. 

With  the  opening  of  spring  seed  will  be  an  important  item  to  the 
farmers.  The  chief  crops  of  these  farmers  are  potatoes,  hay  and 
garden  vegetables.  Large  tracts  of  timber  land  have  been  burned 
almost  clear.  The  commission  distributed  about  five  hundred 
bushels  of  winter  rye  in  the  fall  of  1894,  to-  be  sown  on  such  land, 
which  was  done  with  good  promise  of  success.  Most  of  the  farmers 
are  desirous  of  sowing  timothy  and  red  top  on  such  lands.  The 
seed  ought  to  be  sown  just  before  the  snow  melts  in  the  spring. 


16  Report  of  State  Commission. 

Some  of  the  farmers  want  to  sow  oats  with  the  grass  seed,  in  order 
to  get  the  benefit  of  the  crop.  This  ground  has  been  practically 
cleared  by  the  fire,  and  with  comparatively  little  labor  can  be  brought 
under  cultivation,  but  if  neglected,  will  speedily  grow  up  to  weeas 
and  underbrush. 

The  commissioners  cannot  lay  claim  to  infallibility.  They  have 
doubtless  made  some  mistakes,  but  if  they  have  not  made  mistakes 
in  more  than  one  case  in  ten  out  of  the  1,011  cases  dealt  with  they 
will  be  satisfied.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  they  had  to  deal 
with  people  scattered  over  a  large  extent  of  territory,  and  that  the 
work  has  been  done  by  no  less  than  ten  different  agents,  besides  the 
several  local  committees  and  it  could  not  be  expected  that  all  of  these 
agents  would  be  able  to  pursue  an  absolutely  uniform  line  of  action. 
In  Hinckley  alone  there  have  been  four  different  agents  in  charge 
at  different  times. 

"i'he  commission  does  not  claim  that  its  distribution  of  funds  and 
supplies  has  been  strictly  equitable;  it  was  impossible  in  the  na- 
ture of  the  case  that  it  should  be  so.  When  the  work  began  it  was 
not  known  either  how  much  means  would  be  available  or  how  many 
people  would  have  to  be  assisted.  It  was  estimated  at  the  outset 
that  about  200  people  were  dead,  that  about  1,200  to  1,500 
people  might  require  assistance,  and  that  about  $75,000  would  prob- 
ably be  realized  from  donations.  The  event  proved  that  more  than 
400  people,  were  dead,  that  more  than  2,600  people  have  required 
assistance  and  that  the  cash  donations  passing  through  the  hands  of 
the  state  commission  were  $96,500,  in  addition  to  nearly  $25,000, 
received  and  disbursed  by  the  different  local  committees. 

Many  of  the  fire  sufferers  were  unable  to  return  to  the  burned 
district  because  of  the  immpossibility  of  earning  a  livelihood  there. 
For  such  persons  a  cash  allowance  was  necessary,  but  in  making 
such  allowances  it  was  necessary  to  exercise  caution  in  order  to  in- 
sure having  means  to  help  those  \vho  remained. 

In  the  distribution  to  those  who  remained  it  was  impossible  to 
exercise  strict  equality;  widows  with  dependent  children  had  to  re- 
ceive more  in  proportion  than:  able  bodied  men  with  families;  men 
who  were  sick  or  injured  by  fire  or  out  of  work  received  more  as- 
sistance in  proportion  than  others.  As  a  rule,  the  farmers  received 
more  in  proportion  than  the  villagers,  for  the  reason  that 
most  of  the  villagers  were  able  to>  obtain  employment  for  the  sup- 
port of  their  families,  while  many  of  the  farmers  must  be  assisted 
until  they  can  raise  a  crop.  Even  among  the  farmers  an  equal 
distribution  was  impracticable.  The  commission  distributed  twen- 
ty-five cows  to  them  who  seemed  to  need  them  most;  with  each 
cow  went  necessarily  about  $15  worth  of  lumber  for  a  stable  and 
about  $20  worth  of  food,  making  a  total  value  of  about  $60  to  $65, 
and  this  one  item  would  make  a  difference  of  that  amount  in  the 
aid  extended  to  two  families,  both,  perhaps,  equally  deserving. 

These  illustrations  will  show  the  difficulty  attending  the  work  of 


Keport  of  State  Commission.  17 

relief.  Even  with  the  most  equitable  distribution  many  inequalities 
must  prevail.  The  previous  condition  of  the  fire  sufferers  and  the 
scale  of  living  to  which  they  -were  accustomed  made  a  great  dif- 
ference in  the  value  of  the  relief.  An  expenditure  of  $150  or  $200 
would  place  one  family  in  a  better  position  than  ever  before,  while 
an  expenditure  of  $250  or  $300  would  leave  another  family  in  poorer 
circumstances  than  ever  'before,  with  a  complete  absence  of  those 
articles  of  comfort  and  refinement  to  which  they  have  been  ac- 
customed. Under  these  circumstances  it  is  not  a  surprise  to  the 
commission  that  there  should  be  feelings  of  discontent  and  jealousy. 
It  could  hardly  be  otherwise,  and^  we  find  as  a  matter  of  fact  that 
in  nearly  every  case  of  public  disaster  and  distribution  of  relief 
similar  complaints  have  arisen;  they  have  to  be  accepted  as  a 
natural  tendency  of  human  nature. 

Owing  to  the  magnitude  of  the  work  and  the  extent  of  territory 
embraced,  the  commission  found  it  necessary  to  have  responsible 
agents  for  carrying  on  the  work.  Mr.  H.  H.  Hart,  a  member  of 
the  commission,  and  secretary  of  the  state  board  of  corrections  and 
charities,  was  made  secretary  of  the  commission  and  was  given  a 
general  oversight  of  its  work.  Mr.  J.  G.  Howard  of  Duluth,  on 
recommendation  of  the  Duluth  local  committee,  was  appointed  as 
general  superintendent  of  construction,  with  entire  charge  of  the 
work  of  building  houses  in  the  burned  district,  the  purchase  of 
lumber  and  building  materials,  the  employment  of  carpenters,  etc. 
Mr.  Howard  pushed  the  work  energetically  and  made  every  effort 
to  provide  shelter  for  the  people  before  winter  set  in,  giving  most 
of  his  time  to  the  work  for  two  months  without  compensation.  Mr. 
Geo.  D.  Holt,  secretary  of  the  associated  charities  of  Minneapolis, 
\vas  appointed  as  agent  at  Duluth  and  was  subsequently  transferred 
to  Hinckley.  He  was  succeeded  as  agent  at  Duluth  by  Mr.  C.  E. 
Holt,  who  had  charge  of  the  registration  and  permanent  relief  of 
all  fire  sufferers  w^ho  were  located  at  Duluth,  including  most  of  the 
people  from  Sandstone  and  vicinity  and  a  part  of  those  from  Hinck- 
ley. Mr.  James  F.  Jackson,  secretary  of  the  associated  charities 
at  St.  Paul,  was  sent  to  Pine  City  as  the  representative  of  the  St. 
Paul  local  committee.  At  the  request  of  the  commission  the  as- 
sociated charities  at  St.  Paul  consented  that  he  should  act  as  the 
agent  of  the  commission,  first  at  Pine  City  and  afterwards  at  Hinck- 
ley. His  work  was  thoroughly  satisfactory,  and  it  w-as  a  matter 
of  regret  when  his  duties  called  him  back  to  St.  Paul  after  five  weeks' 
service.  Mr.  H.  D.  Davis  of  Hinckley,  general  manager  of  the 
Brennan  Lumber  Company,  acted  as  agent  at  Hinckley  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  Pine  City  relief  committee  until  he  was  relieved  by 
Mr.  G.  W.  Marchant  at  his  own  request,  owing  to  the  demands  of 
his  business.  Mr.  Davis  served  without  compensation  and  with 
entire  satisfaction.  Mr.  G.  W.  Marchant  was  appointed  as  agent 
at  Hinckley  on  account  of  his  exoerience  in  caring  for  the  sufferers 
by  cyclone  at  Sank  Rapids.  He  was  peculiarly  adapted  to  the 


18  Report  of  State  Commission. 

work,  but  found  it  necessary  to  withdraw  after  three  weeks'  ser- 
vice on  account  of  his  private  business.  He  was  succeeded  tem- 
porarily by  Mr.  Jackson  and  permanently  by  Geo.  D.  Holt,  who 
is  still  in  the  service  of  the  commission  as  agent  at  Hinckley.  Mr. 
N.  J.  Miller  of  Duluth,  was  appointed  as  agent  at  Sandstone,  where 
he  not  only  attended  to  the  relief  of  the  fire  sufferers,  but  also  took 
charge  of  building  'Operations,  and  some  fifty-five  houses  were  built 
under  his  direction.  Mr.  Miller  has  performed  his  difficult  duties 
to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  commission  and  is  still  in  charge 
of  affairs  at  Sandstone.  Rev.  Wm.  Wilkinson  of  Minneapolis, 
acted  as  the  agent  of  the  commission  at  Pokegama.  Mr.  Wilkinson 
went  to>  the  relief  of  the  people  of  Pokegama  on  the  day  after  the 
fire  and  devoted  himself  indefatigably  to  the  inetrests  of  the  suffer- 
ers there,  transporting  supplies  on  hand  cars,  clothing  the  needy, 
burying  the  dead — even  using  the  shovel  and  the  ax  with  his  own 
hand.  The  people  of  Pokegama  were  fortunate  in  finding  such  a 
faithful  and  disinterested  friend,  who  devoted  himself  heart  and  soul 
to  their  interests  without  thought  of  reward. 

Rev.  David  Morgan,  superintendent  of  the  St.  Paul  Bethel,  acted 
as  a  special  agent  of  the  commission  for  the  investigation  of  appli- 
cations for  relief  from  remote  points.  In  this  capacity  he  visited 
Pokegama,  Brainerd,  Aitkin,  New  York  Mills  and  Little  Falls.  His 
reports  were  marvels  of  brevity  and  good  sense,  and  for  this  work 
he  received  no  compensation  beyond  has  actual  expenses.  Mr. 
R.  A.  Hoyt  of  St.  Paul,  visited  New  York  Mills  and  Milaca  in  behalf 
of  the  commission  on  similar  service. 

The  commission  was-  fortunate  in  obtaining  the  services  of  Mr. 
Christian  Arvold  of  Rochester,  formerly  auditor  of  Blue  Earth  coun- 
ty, as  accountant.  Mr.  Arvold  proved  thoroughly  competent  and 
worked  early  and  late,  not  only  in  the  discharge  of  his  ordinary 
duties,  but  also  in  befriending  and  assisting  the  fire  sufferers,  and 
in  interpreting  for  Swedes,  Norwegians,  Germans,  Danes  and  Ice- 
landers. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  commission  chose  as  its  agents  men  spe- 
cially qualified  for  this  service  by  training  and  experience  in  similar 
work,  and  the  results  have  shown  the  wisdom  of  this  course  in 
guarding  against  imposition  and  avoiding  experiments. 

The  members  of  the  St.  Cloud  local  committee,  after  rendering 
•efficient  aid  to  the  fire  sufferers  at  Pokegama,  generously  undertook 
the  entire  charge  of  the  fire  sufferers  in  the  vicinity  of  Milaca.  They 
cared  for  377  people,  expending  $1,254  of  their  own  money,  and 
$4,133  furnished  by  the  state  commission.  In  addition  to  this  sum, 
the  state  commission  furnished  new  winter  underclothing,  etc.,  to 
the  value  of  $760,  which  was  distributed  by  the  St  Cloud  commit- 
tee, who  acted  as  our  agents. 

The  Duluth  local  committee  acted  as  agents  of  the  state  commis- 
sion in  the  purchase  of  family  outfits,  clothing,  furniture  and  provi- 


Report  of  State  Commission.  19 

sions,  which  were  supplied  by  local  dealers  on  recommendation  of 
our  Duluth  agent. 

Members  of  the  Pine  City  local  committee  acted  as  agents  of  the 
commission  in  disbursing  funds  and  handling  supplies  at  that  place. 

The  local  committees  of  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis,  Duluth,  Stillwater, 
Cloquet,  Mora  and  White  Bear  disbursed  funds  raised  by  them  for 
the  relief  of  fire  sufferers  in  such  ways  as  seemed  to  them  for  their 
best  interest.  These  committees  have  furnished  us  staiemeiits  of 
their  work,  which  are  appended  hereto. 

To  the  best  of  our  knowledge  no  member  of  any  of  these  local 
committees  has  received  any  compensation  for  his  services,  unless 
one  or  two  paid  clerks  employed  at  Duluth  or  St.  Paul  may  have 
been  members  of  local  committees. 

We  have  made  application  to  the  department  of  agriculture  to 
furnish  seed  for  these  people,  and  Hon.  A.  R.  Kiefer  has  introduced 
a  bill  into  congress,  authorizing  the  department  of  agriculture  to 
furnish  such  seeds,  but  the  department  of  agriculture  has  been  un- 
able to  inform  us  whether  seed  can  be  furnished. 

We  have  received  a  petition  for  the  building  of  a  schoolhouse  at 
Sandstone  Junction,  to  cost  about  $200.  We  have  already  furnished 
assistance  for  building  school  houses  at  Sandstone,  Mission  Creek 
and  Pokegama,  and  having  investigated  this  application,  we  think 
it  should  be  granted. 

The  Duluth  local  committee  raised  about  $13,000  in  cash  for  the 
benefit  of  the  fire  sufferers,  in  addition  to  large  quantities  of  cloth- 
ing and  provisions,  which  were  used  for  the  temporary  relief  of 
those  who  went  to  Duluth.  Up  to  Nov.  15,  1894,  the  Duluth  com- 
mittee had  expended  about  $10,000  in  cash  for  the  benefit  of  fire 
sufferers.  Nearly  two  hundred  people  had  located  in  Duluth  and 
vicinity,  many  of  whom  were  likely  to  require  further  assistance, 
and  the  Duluth  local  committee  felt  that  they  ought  to  reserve  the 
remainder  of  their  funds  for  future  contingencies  for  the  care  of 
these  people. 

A  joint  meeting  of  the  state  commission  and  the  Duluth  local 
committee  was  held  at  Hinckley,  Nov.  20,  1894,  and  the  following 
minute  was  adopted:  "It  was  mutually  agreed  that  the  Duluth  local 
committee  shall  take  active  charge  of  cases  of  fire  sufferers  in  that 
vicinity,  and  if  they  find  it  necessary  to  expend,  not  exceeding 
$1,500,  including  doctor  bills,  before  January  I5th  next,  they  shall 
report  it  to  the  state  commission,  who  will  include  this  amount  in 
their  deficiency  report  to  the  legislature." 

The  Duluth  local  committee  incurred  expenditures  for  temporary 
relief,  hospital  bills  and  medical  attendance  for  fire  sufferers  from 
Nov.  15,  1894,  to  Jan.  18,  1895,  amounting  to  $1,896.80.  They  re- 
ported that  at  that  date  they  had  still  under  their  care  135  people, 
for  whom  they  are  likely  to  incur  more  or  less  expense  in  the  fu- 
ture. The  state  commission,  therefore,  respectfully  recommends 
that  the  legislature  include  in  any  appropriations  for  the  further  as- 


20  Report  of  State  Commission. 

sistance  of  fire  sufferers,  $1,500,  to  reimburse  the  Duluth  local  com- 
mittee in  part  for  the  expense  thus  incurred. 

One  of  the  pressing  needs  of  the  burned  district  at  the  present 
time  is  assistance  in  replacing  bridges  and  repairing  roads.  All  of 
the  bridges  were  destroyed  by  fire,  and  many  miles  of  corduroy 
and  peat  roads  have  been  literally  burned  up.  The  county  has  suf- 
fered heavily  in  consequence  of  "the  fire,  by  loss  of  taxes,  and  there 
is  need  of  assistance  from  the  state.  The  estimated  cost  of  replac- 
ing the  burned  bridges  and  repairing  the  roads  is  $5,000,  and  we 
would  respectfully  recommend  that  an  appropriation  be  made  for 
that  purpose. 

Should  the  legislature  deem  it  proper  to  provide  for  the  items 
above  mentioned,  viz.,  additional  temporary  relief,  assistance  in  pur- 
chasing teams,  cows  and  sewing  machines,  grass  seed,  oats,  seed 
potatoes,  a  schoolhouse  at  Sandstone  Junction,  an  appropriation  for 
roads  and.  bridges  and  for  reimbursing  the  Duluth  committee,  the 
total  amount  required  will  be  about  $21,500. 

It  has  been  and  will  be  the  aim  of  the  commission  so  to  distribute 
the  means  which  have  been  placed  in  their  hands  as  to  help  these 
unfortunate  people  to  a  position  of  self  support  at  once,  and  we  most 
earnestly  recommend  that,  should  the  legislature  see  fit  to  grant 
additional  relief,  it  be  given  immediately,  and  be  so  distributed  as 
to  enable  the  people  to  provide  for  themselves  in  future.  We  think 
that  the  work  of  relief  should  be  finally  closed  up  at  the  earliest 
possible  date — not  later  than  May  i,  1895. 

Sept.  2,  1894,  by  order  of  the  governor,  per  Tarns  Bixby,  private 
secretary,  eighty  tents  were  shipped  to  Pine  City  by  Capt.  W.  H. 
Hart,  brigade  quartermaster  of  the  national  guard  of  the  state  of 
Minnesota.  Sixty-five  of  these  tents  were  subsequently  shipped  to 
Hinckley,  and  were  used  by  the  fire  sufferers  at  Hinckley,  Sand- 
stone, and  other  points. 

These  tents  are  the  property  of  the  United  States  government,  and 
the  national  guard  are  responsible  to  the  United  States  government 
for  them. 

The  most  of  these  tents  were  in  use  from  sixty  to  ninety  days. 
They  were  carefuly  inspected  by  Acljt.  Gen.  H.  Muehlberg,  Capt.  W. 
H.  Hart  and  D.  E.  Clark,  storekeeper  of  the  state  relief  commission, 
as  a  board  of  survey,  and  they  submitted  the  following  report  re- 
specting the  condition  of  these  tents: 

We,  a  board  of  survey,  have  made  inspection  of  the  national 
guard  tents,  which  were  used  by  the  relief  commission  at  Pine  City 
and  the  Hinckley  fire  district,  and  we  find  their  condition  as  fol- 
lows : 

18  tents  unfit  for  further  use  by  the  national  guards;    a  total  loss  at  $18.50 

each    $333.50 

12  tents  badly  damaged,  estimated  cost  of  repairs,  at  $11  each  132.00 

31  tents  damaged,  estimated  at  50  per  cent,  of  value,  $S.50  each  ...  ..    263.50 


Report  of  State  Commission.  21 


15  tents  badly  soiled,  estimated  cost  of  cleaning,  $5  each. 

4  tents  short 

Tent  pins  short  


$910.00 
15  canteens,   $1.27  each 19.00 


Total $929.00 

HERMAN   MUEHLBERG, 

Adjutant    General. 
W.   H.   HART, 

Captain  and  Brigade  Quartermaster. 
D.    E.    CLARK, 

Storekeeper  State  Relief  Commission. 

Adjutant  General  Muehlberg  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  tents  above 
mentioned  as  a  total  loss  well  be  rejected  by  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment when  they  are  called  for.  The  tent  poles  are  on  hand,  but 
are  useless,  for  the  reason  that  the  government  now  issues  conical 
tents  instead  of  wall  tents. 

Three  of  the  four  tents  short  will  probably  be  recovered,  but  their 
condition  is  not  known. 

We  respectfully  recommend  that  an  appropriation  of  $930  be 
made,  payable  to  the  order  of  the  governor,  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
placing such  of  these  tents  as  cannot  be  used  for  the  national  guards, 
and  repair  such  as  are  in  need  of  repair;  and  that  those  tents  which 
are  condemned  for  further  use  on  the  part  of  the  national  guard  of 
the  state  of  Minnesota,  be  placed  in  charge  of  the  military  store- 
keeper, to  be  used  in  case  of  any  similar  emergency  in  the  future. 

The  state  relief  commission  has  on  file  in  the  office  of  the  treas- 
urer  accounts  and  vouchers  in  detail  of  all  funds  received  and  dis- 
bursed by  them,  together  with  a  record  of  supplies-  received  and 
issued,  and  a  record  of  the  relief  given  to  each  fire  sufferer.  We 
would  respectfully  request  that  the  joint  committee  of  the  legis- 
lature appoint  a  sub-committee,  or  employ  a  competent  expert  to 
examine  the  books  and  vouchers  of  the  commission  in  detail,  and 
report  of  the  committee.  Mr.  Christian  Arvold,  the  accountant  of 
the  commission,  will  be  at  the  service  of  the  committee  at  any  time, 
and  will  afford  them  whatever  information  they  may  require. 

We  submit  herewith,  as  a  supplement  to  this  report,  Exhibit  "A," 
an  abstract  of  the  report  of  our  treasurer;  Exhibit  "B/'  a  list  of  cash 
donations  received;  Exhibit  "C,"  a  list  of  houses  built  and  lumber 
donations;  Exhibit  "D,"  an  abstract  of  the  reports  of  the  several 
local  committees;  Exhibit  "E,"  a  list  of  all  persons  registered  by  the 
commission. 

Should  the  governor  or  the  legislature  desire  any  information  with 
refernece  to  the  work  of  the  commission  not  contained  in  this  re- 
port, we  shall  take  pleasure  in  furnishing  it. 


22  Report  of  State  Commission. 

We  desire,  in  conclusion,  to  extend  our  thanks  to  Your  Excel- 
lency, to  the  legislature,  and  to  the  multitude  of  contributors  for 
the  generous  confidence  reposed  in  us.      We  have  endeavored  to  dis- 
charge this  sacred  trust  in  the  spirit  in  which  it  was  confided  to  us. 
All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

CHARLES  A.  PILLSBURY, 
KENNETH  CLARK, 
CHARLES  H.  GRAVES, 
MATTHEW  G.  NORTON, 
HASTINGS  H.  HART, 

Commissioners. 
EXHIBIT  A. 

SUMMARY   OF  THE  TREASURER'S  REPORT. 

KENNETH   CLARK,    TREASURER. 

Receipts. 

Donations  from  foreign   countries    $11,600.00 

Donations  from  United  States,  except  Minnesota 14,711.19 

Donations  from  Minnesota 70,147.50 


Total  cash  donations  .............................................  $36,458.69 

Proceeds  of  Sales  of  Building-  Material,  etc. 
Collected  by  George  D.  Holt,  agent  at  Hinckley  ....................       $873.28 

Collected  by  N.  J.  Miller,  agent  at  Sandstone  ........................         965.41 

Collected  by  J.  G.  Howard,  superintendent  of  construction  ........         176.46 

--   $2,018.15 
Loan  ........   .  ........................................................  15,000.00 

Total   cash  receipts   ................      .......       ......  .........  $113,476.81 


Per  receipted  vouchers  on  file  with  the  treasurer,  and  classified  as  follows: 

Cash  Allowances  to  Individual  Fire  Sufferers 
Through  Hinckley  office  .......................................  $13,326.99 

Through  Duluth  office   ........  .  ............................  ..      4,031.12 

Through  St.   Paul  office  .......................................      1,052.50 

Through  Minneapolis  office  .................................        661.50 

Through  St.  Cloud  office  (Milaca)  ............................      4,132.50 

—  $23,204.61 

Cost  of  Buildings  Erected. 
Lumber  ................................................  $20,970.51 

Hardware,  brick  and  lime  .........................     3,576.71 

Cash  allowances  for  compo.  board  .................        30000 

—  $24,847.22 

Labor  of  workmen  on  buildings,  teamsters,  etc.    $8,921.55 
Cash   allowances   for   labor   to   parties   building 

their  own   houses  .................................     1,553.61 

-  $10,475.16 
Total  cost  of  buildings  ........................  -  $35,322.38 


Report  of  State  Commission.  23 

Outfitting. 

Dry  goods,  shoes,  clothing,  blankets $6,567.46 

Furniture  and  bedding 3,412.98 

Crockery 808.68 

Hardware,  stoves,  farming  tools  and  implements 4,413.88 

Housekeeping  outfits  ordered  in  Duluth 6,275.31 

Dry   goods  for   Milaca  fire   suffers  per  St.    Cloud   com- 
mittee         760.30 

$22,238.61 

Temporary  Relief. 

Provisions  $8,635.33 

Board  of  fire  sufferers 1,413.68 

Wages  of  cookhouse  crews 655.88 


•  510,704.89 


Hay,  feed  and  seed  $2,508.07 

Wages  of  stockyard  crew 311.00 

$2,819.07 

Medical  attendance  and  nursing 999.46 

Temporary  relief  in  St.  Paul 325.00 

$14,848.42 

Miscellaneous  Disbursements. 

Twenty-five  cows  purchased $644.50 

Plowing  598.30 

Freight  and  transportation  paid 715.57 

Sundry  expenses  599.93 

Wages  paid  laborers 1,514.90 

—   $4,073.20 
Administration. 

Salaries  of  agents,  clerks,   storekeepers,   warehouse  em- 
ployes and  expense  of  delivery  teams $4,857.75 

Expenses  paid  298.98 

$5,156.73 


Total  disbursements  to  December  31,  1894 $104,843.95 


Cash  balance  In  treasurer's  hands *  $8,632.89 

•Disbursed  from  Jan.  1st  to  Jan.  21st,  $3,926.16;    ba-lance,  Jan.  21,  1895,  $4,706.72. 

EXHIBIT   B. 

STATEMENT    OF    CASH    DONATIONS    RECEIVED    BY    THE    MINNESOTA 

STATE   COMMISSION   FOR   THE  RELIEF  OF  FIRE   SUFFERERS. 

FROM   FOREIGN   COUNTRIES. 

ENGLANT>. 

X.ondon;    Lord  Mount  Stephen $3,000.00 

CANADA. 

Montreal;    Sir  Donald  Smith • $5,000.00 

Lady  Donald    Smith -.. 1,000.00 

R.    B.    Angus 500.00 


24  Report  of  State  Commission. 

Niagara  Falls;    per  mayor,  through  St.  Paul  committee.... 


Total  from  foreign  countries 

FROM  THE  UNITED  STATES  (EXCEPT  MINNESOTA.) 
ARKANSAS. 

CALIFORNIA. 
COLORADO. 


Carlisle;      citizens    

Pasodena;      Mary    Cor.ndine 

Denver;    J.  A.  Wannis 

CONNECTICUT. 

Bridgeport;  Union  Metallic  Cartridge  Co.,  per  St.  Paul  committee 
Hartford;  National  Fire  Insurance  Co.,  per  St.  Paul  committee... 
New  Haven;  Winchester  Repeating  Arms  Company,  per  St.  Paul 

committee 

L.  Candee  &  Co.,  one-fifth  of  $1,000,  per  St.  Paul  committee.. 
Naugatuck;     Gcodyear    Metallic    Rubber    Shoe    Co.,    one-fifth    of 

$1,000,  per  St.  Paul  committee 

South   Woodstock;    Sunday-school  boys 


$11,600.00 


$3.75 


$5.00 


$100.00 
100.00 


200.00 
200.00 


FLORIDA. 


Winter  Park;    Mrs.   Berndon. 
Manatee;    A.   E.   Stebblnis 


$20.00 


GEORGIA. 

Macon;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  I.  Block 

ILLINOIS. 
Aurora  Sunday-school ;    to  Pine  City  committee,  $5  (see  page  28).. 

Batavia ;    Horace  N.  Jones 

Big  Wood  Sunday->school ;    to  Pine  City  com.  $1.77  (see  page  38)... 

Champagne;    Rev.  D.  W.  Dresser,  per  St.  Paul  committee 

Chicago;    Bradner,   Smith  &  Co 

Tribune    subscription    list 

J.  C.  McVicker 

"          W.  K.  Ackcrman,  city  comptroller 

"          W.   K.  Ackermati,   city  comptroller 

"          Germans  ol   Chicago,  per  George  Benz $1,000.00 

"          Germans  ol  Chicago,  per  George  Benz 1,100.00 

Germans  of  Chicago,  per  George  Berz 


5.00 
100.00 
100.50 
100.00 
719.55 
359.78 


Subscribers  *o  "Hemelandet,"  per  St.  Paul  committee. 

C.  M.  Wilkcs,  per  St.  Paul  committee 

"          T.  A.  Gardner,  per  St.  Paul  committee 

"          L.  D.  Sherman,  per  St.  Paul  committee 

Durand;    Magens  Swenningsen 

Hingland  Park;    Presbyterian  church 


$3,091.20 
2.00 
35.00 
1.00 
10.00 
36.00 
35.00 


$802.00 


$5.00 


Report  of  State  Commission.  25 

Oak    Park;     Royal   Jjeague   and   Royal    Arcanum    councils;    per 

St.  Paul  committee 29.00 

Plymouth;     Congrega/iional   church 12.10 

Riverside;    Citizens 104.85 

Rock  Island;    L.  E.  West 5.00 

Waukegan;    A.  D.  Sti'lson 1.00 

-   $4,741.98 
IOWA. 

Ayrshire;  F.  H.  Henry,  per  Minneapolis  committee $  5.00 

Bellevue;    Citizens    39.50 

Clarksville;  Citizens,  per  Minneapolis  committee 22.00 

Decorah;  Citizens,  per  St.  Paul  committee 200.00 

Grinnell;   C.    Newton   75.50 

Oscian;  John  Johnson ; 10.10 

Sioux  City;  S.  J.  Beals 10.00 

Dr.  Hukins  &  Bro.,  to  Pine  City  com.  $10  (see  page  38.) ... 

-     1362.10 
KANSAS. 

Fort  Scott;  B.  T.  McDonald  $5.00 

Kearney;  M.  E.  Dulebohn 1.00 

Pleasant  Valley;  Y.  P.  S.  C.  E 17.00 

Reserve;  Women  of  R.  C 19.58 

$42.58 
LOUISIANA. 

Rustan;  A.  W.  Rogan $1.00 

MARYLAND. 

Brookville;  per  Bishop  H.  B.  Whipple  $7.00 

St.  Barskotsman  Parish;  St.  John's  Church  6.00 

$13.00 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

Boston;  J.  H.  Salter,  Jr $10.00 

G.  M.  Lee,  per  St.  Paul  committee  50.00 

Boston   Rubber   Shoe   Co.    (by   Kellogg,   Johnson   &   Co.),    per 

St.  Paul  committee 500.00 

United   States   Rubber   Co.    (one-fifth   of   $1,000),    per  St.    Paul 

committee    200.00 

American  Rubber  Co.  (one-fifth  of  $1,000),  per  St.  Paul  com....  200.00 

Holyoke;  Massasoit  Paper  Co.   (through  Bradner,  Smith  &  Co.)..  25.00 

Roxbury;  W.  A.  Blossom  (Exalted  Ruler),  per  St.  Paul  com'tej..  100.00 

$1,086.00 

MICHIGAN. 

Grand  Rapids;  J.  Wood $200.00 

MISSOURI. 
Emmetstown;    Rev.    W.    T.    Brand    (by    Bishop    Gilbert)    per   St. 

Paul  committee  $14.00 

St.  Louis;  Lig-gett  Myers  Tobacco  Co.,  per  St.  Paul  committee 100.00 

$114.00 


Report  of  State  Commission. 


MONTANA. 

Ft.  Keogh;  Sunday  school,  per  St.  Paul  committee J3.23 

Eighty-two  U.  S.  Soldiers,  per  St.  Paul  committee 33.30 

Other  contributions,  per  St.  Paul  committee  /  '"0 

Red  Lodge;  Howard  Watson *•*> 

— <46.<B 

NEBRASKA. 

Omaha;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  R.  A.  Boyd $2.00 

NEW   HAMPSHIRE^ 

Qorham;  D.  L.  Hitchcock,  per  Minneapolis  committee  ... $25.00 

NEVADA. 

Citizens   

NEW    YORK. 

Albany;  C.  A.  Hagreman  $2.00 

Fourth   Presbyterian  church   111.21 

Cambridge  citizens   to   Pine  City  committee,   $5   (see  page  39) 

Fairport;  De  Land  &  Co $41.52 

De  Land  &  Co  54.20 

Per    St.    Paul    Committee. 

De  Land  &  Co.  (by  Griggs,  C.  &  Co.)  56.52 

De  Land  &  Co.  (by  J.  H.  Allen  &  Co.)  55.02 

De  Land  &  Co.  (by  Noyes  Bros.  &  Cutler) 41.52 

De  Land  &  Co.  (by  S.  &  W.)  55.02 

Per    Minneapolis    Committee. 

De  Land  &  Co.  (by  Geo.  R.  Newell  &  Co.) 56. E2 

De  Land  &  Co.  (by  A.  Kelly  &  Co.) 54.20 

De  Land  &  Co.  (by  Winston  F.  &  Co.) 40.90 

465.42 

Church  &  Co.  (by  Geo.  R.  Newell  &  Co.)  125.00 

John   Dwight 125.00 

Hudson;  Dr.  G.  E.  Benson  25.00 

Le  Roy;  "Friend,"  per  Minneapolis  committee  20.00 

New  York;  "The  Times,"  per  John  B.  Douglass  15.00 

Horace   White   125.00 

F.  Robert  Magee  25.00 

Henry  L.  Stimson  5.00 

M.  C.  Miller  5.00 

"Evening  Post"  Publishing  company   80.00 

"Evening  Post"  Publishing  company  16.00 

"Evening  Post"  Publishing  company  5.00 

101.00 

Per    St.    Paul    Committee. 

Austin  Corbin  500.00 

J.   C.  Carter  250.00 

New  York  Life  Insurance  company  1,000.00 

^    New  York  Mutual  Life  Insurance  company  500.00 

E.  H.  Scott  2.00 

Henry  E.  Noyes 25.00 


Report  of  State  Commission. 


27 


Arnold,  Constable  &  Co.  (by  T.  C.  Field) 

J.  McCreary  &  Co.  (by  T.  C.  Field)  100.00 

Lee,  Tweedy  &  Co.  (by  T.  C.  Field)  .  100.00 

Chas.  B.  Landon  &  Co.  (by  T.  C.  Field) 100.00 

Teft,  Weller  &  Co.  (by  T.  C.  Field)  100.00 

Dunham,  Buckley  &  Co.  (by  T.  C.  Field)  100.00 

E.  L.  Jeffray  (by  T.  C.  Field)  100.00 

Willis  &  Gebt  (by  T.  C.  Field)  100.00 

John  S.  Brown  &  Sons  (by  T.  C.  Field)  50.00 

Meyer,  Jonasson  &  Co.  {by  T.  C.  Field)  50.00 

E.  T.  Mason  &  Co.  (by  T.  C.  Field)  50.00 

J.  C.  Locke  &  Potts  (by  T.  C.  Field)  100.00 

John  Ruszits  Fur  Co.  (by  T.  C.  Field)  100.00 

S.  H.  De  Forest  10.00 

John  Dwight  &  Co 125.00 

New  York  Stock  Exchange 1,100.00 

Church  &  Co  (by  Geo.  R.  Newell  &  Co.)  , 125,00 

Spencerport;  John  Merz,  per  Minneapolis  committee 2.27 

Total  from  New  York  state  $6,084.90 

NORTH    DAKOTA. 

Castleton;    "Traveling  Man"   $     2.00 

Deepe;   Mary  Orgene  2.00 

Drayton;  W.  C.  T.  U 5.75 

W.  C.  T.  U 5.00 

Gardner;   Congregational  Parsonage 40.00 

People  of  Gardner  16.00 

New  Salem;  "Cash,"  per  St.  Paul  committee 5.00 

Lisbon;  Citizens  20.00 

Tower  City;  Rich.  L.  Howell,  per  St.  Paul  committee  25.00 

Wahpeton;  Citizens  and  Turn  Verein  103.85 

$£24.60 

OHIO. 

Berea.    $50.00 

Cincinnati;   A  Davis  &   Co.    (through    George   R.    Newell   &   Co., 

per  Minneapolis  committee)   25.00 

Cleveland;     C.    F.    Thwing    10.00 

Lennox;  King's  Daughters,  per  St.  Paul  committee  3.00 

Toledo;  Commercial  Club  5.00 

$96.00 
OREGON. 

Mt.  Tabor;  "Cash"  $5.00 

Portland;  Swedish  Society  "Lumea"   33.00 

$43.00 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

Erie;  J.  H.  Bliss  $250.00 

"Cash,"  per  St.   Paul  committee  5.90 


28 


Report  of  State  Commission. 


Glenn;  Martin  Chevalier  5.00 

Philadelphia;  Irene  C.  Faunce  10.00 

Wiseman  &  Wallace,  per  St.  Paul  committee 50.00 

RHODE    ISLAND. 
Woonsoeket;   Woonsocket  Rubber  Co.,  1-5  of  $1,000,  per  St.   P?ul 

committee    

TENNNE33EE. 

Columbia;  John  E.  Greer  

TEXAS. 

Fort  Worth;  Dr.  A.  P.  Brown  

VIRGINIA. 

Newport  News;  Robert  Storker,  of  U.  S.  Navy  

WASHINGTON. 

Seattle;  G.  Hanens,  per  St.  Paul  committee 

WISCONSIN. 

Bayfleld;  J.  H.  Wing $100.00 

Pepin;    "Cash"    5.00 

Phillips;  Presbyterian  church  • 10.00 

S.  H.  Murphy  10. CO 

Point  Douglass;  Episcopal  church   10.00 


Total  from  the  United  States  except  Minnesota  

CONTRIBUTIONS  FROM  MINNESOTA. 

Ada;  Citizens  

Norwegian  Lutheran  church  


Aitkin;  Citizens  

Albany;  Citizens  

Albert  Lea;  Citizens  .'. 

Village    

C.  P.  Kiel,  Sr  


$200.00 

w.oo 

$5.00 

$15.00 

Sl.OO 


-      $135.00 
J14.7U.19 


$243.50 
18.21 


$1,104.76 

250. CO 

5.00 


Alden ;  Citizens   

Alexandria;  Gov.  Knute  Nelson  $100.00 

Citizens  50.00 

Citizens  28.00 

Rev.  H.  B.  F.  Lansem,  to  Pine  City  com.,  $15  (see  page  38.) 

Almon;  W.  C.  T.  U 

Amboy;  Citizens  $110.75 

Citizens    10.75 


$261.71 
108.11 


1,359.76 
64.10 


178.00 
5.00 

121.50 


Anoka;  Citizens 

Citizens    ... 


$G8.56 
16.00 


Appleton;  A.  K.  Pederson  

St.   Margaret's  Guild  


Report  of  State  Commission.  29 

Arctander;  Citizens  67.00 

Ashland;  Dodge  county,  per  St.  Paul  committee  100.00 

Atwater;  Dahl  &  Peterson  (car  of  wheat  sold)  369.59 

Audubon;  Citizens  61.65 

Austin;  J.   Hoban  $1.00 

Geo.   Hirsch  10.00 

W.    Elder  5.00 

Citizens  of  Mower  County 250.00 

Citizens  of  Austin  250.00 

516.  Ot) 

Bald  Eagle;  J.  J.  Leary,  to  Pine  City  com.  $1  (see  page  38) 

Barnesville;  I.  O.  O.  F 95.75 

Batavia;  L.  A.  Kenney  (see  Batavia,  111.)  5.00 

Battle  Lake;  Citizens  25.25 

Beaver  Creek;  Citizens  51.00 

Belgrade.;  Glaus  Jorgerson,  per  Minneapolis  committee  1.00 

Belle  Plaine;  Citizens  $30.00 

Citizens    17.00 

Catholic  church  of  the  Sacred  Heart  41.00 

108.00 

Belmont  and  Des  Moines;  Norwegian  farmers  15.50 

Bethany;  Rev.  Philip  Gritensohn  20.00 

Benson;  A.  N.  Johnson  10.00 

Big  Lake;  Citizens  25.75 

Blue  Earth;  Presbyterian  church   $42.31 

M.   E.   Church 33.13 

75.44 

Blooming  Prairie;     Citizens   50.00 

Brainerd;    Citizens   ICO. 00 

Brandon;   Citizens  50.00 

Brighton;  Citizens  49.30 

Browns   Valley;    Ladies 38.62 

Byron;  Congregational  Byron  Methodist  church  $30.00 

M.   E.   Church  6.00 

Village    25.00 

—         61.00 

Cambridge;  Citizens   $67.50 

Camp  Release;  Citizens,  per  Minneapolis  committee 9.25 

Cannon  Falls;  Village  $350.00 

Village    100.00 

450.00 

Canton;    Citizens    20.00 

Carver;  Village  Council  and  friends  100.00 

Chaska;    Village 150.00 

Chatfleld;   Citizens 170.00 

Chowan;  Citizens,  per  Minneapolis  committee  15.00 

Christiana;   Congregation;   23.10 

Claremont;  Y.  P.  S.  C.  E 10.00 


30 


Report  of  State  Commission. 


Clinton  Falls;  Baptist  Church i2-45 

Cloquet;   Citizens,   $989.85  received   and   disbursed  by  local  com- 
mittee (see  page  39.) 

Cold  Springs;  Citizens  ^-W 

Cottage  Grove;  Citizens  164.25 

Crookston;  Citizens  $163.95 

Presbyterian  Sunday  school  12-07 

School  children   23-67 

•       199.69 

Delhi;  Presbyterian  church  23.00 

Delano;  Citizens  125.00 

Des  Moines  (see  Belmont.) 

Detroit;  H.  E.  Sargent  $100.00 

St.   Luke's  church  15.00 

Mrs.  J.  K.  West  10.00 

125.00 

Dexter;    Citizens 35.60 

Duluth;  received  and  disbursed  by  local  committee,  $11,850  a 

Dover;  Citizens,  per  H.  Brown   137.40 

Dundas;  Citizens  of  Dundas  and  vicinity  $125.00 

Citizens  of  Dundas  and  vicinity 40.00 

165.00 

Echo;  Village  , 52.50 

Elbow   Lake;    Citizens   114.00 

Elizabeth;  Village  council  50.00 

Elk  River;  Y  P.  S.  C.  E.  of  Union  church  $41.57 

Village    60.00 

101.57 

Excelsior;  Citizens  153.30 

Fairmont;  Villa,ge  100.00 

Fairfax;  Citizens  and  Village  65.35 

Faribault;    M.    E.    Church    $1200 

Circuit  M.  E.  Church  .         23.50 

Citizens     890.94 

926.44 

W  G.    Le  Crone,   to  Pine  City   committee  $7,    (see   page   38).. 

Farmington;  F.  C.  Davis  200.00 

Farwell;  Citizens  $93.70 

Citizens    ... 5.25 

98.96 

Fergus  Falls;  Citizens  250.00 

Fisher:    Citizens    $156. CO 

School  children  5  OQ 

^.   H.    Bain   250 

163.50 

Fort  Snelling;  Company  B,  Third  Infantry,  U.  S.  A.,  per  St.  Paul 

committee    23  00 

Garden  City;  Baptist  church,  per  Minneapolis  committee  jj  00 


Report  of  State  Commission. 


31 


a    Amount  estimated;  no  report  received. 
Glencoe;  A.  H.   Reed  $100.00 

Village     50.  OC 

St.  P.  and  St.  Luke's  church  37.00 

St.   Peter  and  Pad  Church   3.00 

A.  J.  Brechet  (per  St.  Paul  committee)  1.00 

-     $191.00 
Gienwood;  Women's  Union  Missionary  Society  $28.41 

Women's   Union  Missionary  Society    .60 

29.01 

Graceville;    Citizens    111.50 

Grand  Rapids  (see  Grand  Rapids,   Mich.) 

Green  Isle;   Brendam'a  Church 29.15 

Good   Thunder;    Citizens    47.55 

Hancock;    Citizens    24.00 

Halstead;   Citizens 86.25 

Harmony;    Citizens $138.36 

T.    Sanderson    3.00 

141. 3& 

Harris;  Village,   to  Pine  City  committee,   $100  (see  page  38) 

Citizens,  to  Pine  City  committee,  537.75  (see  page  38) 

P.  H.  Stolberg,  to  Pine  City  committee,  $100  (see  page  33) 

Hastings;     City    $500.00 

St.   Boniface  church   $25.00 

525.00 
Hawley;    Citizens    $94.10 

Citizens     5.75 

-      09. 85- 
Hay    Creek;    Citizens $20.50 

Citizens 5.75 

26.25 

Haytteld;  H.  Bock  5.00 

Henderson;    Citizens    128.25' 

Heron  Lake;  Citizens  145.00 

Hitterdal;    Norwegian    Lutheran    church   15.36 

Hutchinson;  Citizens,  Hutchinson  and  vicinity  122.60 

Citizens 2.00 

—       124.80 

Houston;    Citizens    175.00 

Ironwood;  Camp  M.  W.  of  America  No.  2384  10.00 

Isanti;  P.  E.  Fredin,  to  Pine  City  committee,  $2  (see  page  38) 

Janesville;   Citizens  110. OG 

Jordan;   Business  men   -. $105.00 

A.    O.    U.    W 20.75 

Masonic  Lodge  of  King  Hiram  30.00 

155.75 
Kasota;  Citizens  (per  Minneapolis  committee)  56_00 


Report  of  State  Commission. 


Mrs.   W    S    Carslow                                                                               .  . 

5.00 

Kenyon;  German  Lutheran  church,  per  Minneapolis  committee... 

$8.75 
£00.00 

ATm  a      lis  committee 

25  00 

25  00 

250  00 

24  35 

100  00 

$25  20 

1  00 

Lakefi^ld-    School    children    

10.00 

Lake  Park;  Nannenstad  &  Wangen&tein  

Citizens 

$5.00 
40  00 

Lakeville;  Citizens  (through  C.  H.  French)   

$25.00 
59.50 

La  Prairie*  Village                                                                        

25.50 

Le  Roy;  Citizens,  per  Minneapolis  committee  

46.33 
$125.45 

31.25 

Lindstrom;   Citizens,   to  Pine   City  committee,   $83  (see  page  38).. 

Litchfleld;    Village    

Little  Falls;  Mrs.  Sophia  Hinter,  per  St.  Paul  committee 

Long  Prairie;   Village   

A.    O.    U.    W.    . 


Long  Lake;   Citizens 
Citizens    .. 


$50.00 


Luverne;   Citizens   ... 

Madelia;  Citizens  

Mankato;   Mankato   Lodge  No.   225,    B.   P.    O.    Elks,    per  St.    Paul 

committee     $50.00 

Ladies  of  Mankato  142.00 

F.   F.   Holm  3.00 

Citizens    365.00 


Mantorville;    Village    

Maple  Plain;  Citizens,  per  Minneapolis  committee. 

Mapleton;  A.  O.  U.  W 

Citizens    . . 


70.00 


20.00 
139.52 
204.00 


560.90 
100.00 
15.00 


$10.00 
126.00 


Report  of  State  Commission. 


33 


Minneapolis;  Thos.  A.  Matthews  (per  St.  Paul  commimttee)  $5.00 

Frank  Spencer  5.00 

Democratic  state  convention  delegates  294.26 

Scandinavian  relief  committee  1,563.97 

Wholesale  merchants'    discount   on  merchandise   13.47 

Minneapolis  relief  committee  25,890.16 

Total  contributed  from  Minneapolis  27,771.86 

Deduct:  Disb'sed  by  Mayor  Eustis  for  fire  sufferers  (see  p.  9)  3,652.46 

—  24,119.40- 

Money  Creek;  Miss  G.  Brown  $1.00 

Miss  Olive  Holland  5.00 

J.    Holland    5.00 

ll.OO 

Montevideo;  Business  men    40.75 

Montgomery;   Village   178.00 

Monticello;   Relief  committee   59.50 

Moorhead;  Citizens  414.00 

Mountain  Lake;  A.   O.   U.   W 10.50 

New    Prague;    Citizens    180.00 

Xew  Trier;   Citizens   80.00 

New  Ulm;  August  Schell  $25.00 

Carl   \Y.   A.   Krook  10.00 

Citizens    200.00 

A.    O.    U.    W 25.00 

Maennerchor    .: 10.00 

Citizens    172.00 

Congregational    church    50.00 

492.00 
North  Branch;  Citizens,  $100,  to  Pine  City  committee  (see  p.  38). 

Northfield;    Citizens  ; 600.00 

North  St.  Paul;  Village  (per  St.  Paul  committee)  21.50 

Norwood;    Citizens    70.00 

Nylia;    Citizens    5.00 

Ortonville;   Citizens   $66.50 

First   Congregational   church    4.25 

70.75 

Oslo;  Dodge  county,  M.  J.  Ellingson  $5.00 

Owatonna;  per  Rev.  J.  R.  Chamberlain  $148.50 

Citizens     32.25 

180.75 

Pelican    Rapids;    Citizens    $100.00 

W.   C.  T.  U 5.00 

105.00 

Perham;  I.  O.  O.  F $25.00 

Village 100.CO 

Sunday  school  children  1.00 

126.00 


34 


Report  of  State  Commission. 


Pine  City;  Relief  committee,  sundry  donations  received  (see  pages 

38,    39)     ...............................................................    $2,521.79 

Disbursed  by  local  committee  .............................   $1,372.72 

Returned    money    furnished   by    St.    Paul    local    com- 
mittee (see  page  36)  .........................................       500.00 

Citizens,  $10.50,  to  Pine  City  committee  (see  page  38)..  —          -    1,872.72 

649.07 
Pine  Island;  Citizens  ..............  .........................................        $51.03 

Citizens    ....................................................................         45-50 

Citizens    ....................................................................  1-70 

-  9?10 
Pipestone;  Daily  Star  relief  fund  .......................................        $40.00 

Daily  Star  relief  fund  ...................................................          32.21 

Citizens    ...................................................................          25.16 

-  •         97.37 
Plainview;  Ladies  of  the  Liberal   league  ..  ............................        $33.71 

Churches    ..................................................................          45.00 

-  78.71 
Prairieville;   Citizens   ........................................................  5.00 

Preston;  Base  ball  bonelit  ................................................  60.75 

Prior  Lake;  L.  J.  Gossel  .................................................  2.00 

Quincy;  Town  of  Quincy  ...................................................  50.10 

Redwing;  Dr  Chas.  N.   Hewitt  .....................  ......................        $25.00 

City    ...............................................................  ..........       500.00 

Scandinavian  Benevolent  Society  ....................................         25.00 

"Cash"     ......................................................  .  .............  2.00 

-  :  -       552.00 
Redwood  Falls;  J  H.  Bowers  .............................................         $5.00 

Citizens    ....................................................................          30.00 

Citizens     ....................................................................          39.27 

-  74.27 
Renvttle;   Citizens   ............................................................                        113.08 

Rice's;   Village  .......................  .......................................  100.00 

Rlchland;  M.  E.  Church  ....................................................        $10.75 

Baptist  church   ..........................................................         14.10 

-  24.85 
Rochester;  City  ............................................................      $500.00 

Citizens    ...................................................................        444.50 

-  .       944.50 
Rosemount;      Citizens     ..................  ....................  .............       $73.75 

Dan  Carroll   ...............................................................  2.00 

-  75.75 
Royalton;     Citizens   .........................................  ........  ,  .....  45.00 

Rush  City;     Village,    to  Pine   City   committee,   $250   (see   page   89). 

Rushford;     Citizens   .........................................................      $101.00 

Citizens     ............................................  :  ..............  ..........  LOO 

102.00 
Rutledge;   Rutledge  Lumber   Co.    (discount)    ....................  7.74 


Report  of  State  Commission. 


35 


Employes  Rutledge  Lumber  Co.,  to  Pine  City  committee,  $100 
Employes  Rutledge  Lumber  Co.,  to  Pine  City  committee,  $175 

Sacred  Heart;   Citizens  50.75 

•St.   Charles;   Citizens  $100.00 

A.  O.  U  W  (per  St  Paul  committee)  10.00 

110.00 

St.  Cloud;  $1,254.46  rec'd  and  disb'd  by  local  com.    (see  p.   40) 

St.   Henry;  Citizens 3.50 

St.   Hilaire;  Ladies'   Aid  society  25.90 

St  Louis  Park;  Citizens  (per  Minneapolis  committee) 56.00 

St.  James;   Citizens   280.48 

St.  Paul;  Officers  Germania  Life  Insurance  Co $100.00 

Conheim,    Bros 25.00 

B.  C.   Lindquist 5.00 

K.   M.  Bowler  10.00 

Sharood  &  Crooks 109.25 

Thomas  Wilson,  Sept.  5 50.00 

Thomas    WiLson,  Sept.  22 50.00 

J.    Rowe 20.00 

J.   J.   Hill   C.OOO.OO 

Supreme  Lodge  Knights  of  Pythias  of  the  United  States CCO.OO 

C.  S.  Ross,  Turn  Vereiii  150.00 

"Cash"  15.00 

"Cash" 25.00 

George  B.  Edgerton  20.00 

"Cash" i 1.00 

•G.  C.  Jacobs  3.00 

Stranger  1.00 

Builders'  Exchange  '...« 25.00 

"Friend" .25 

Aurelius  Bros 5.00 

Isidor  Rose 25.00 

J.  S.  Proctor 5.00 

H.  M.  Barnet,  manager  excursion  to  Hinckley 50.00 

Employes  West  Publishing  Co 137.50 

Engineer  Bast  and  Conductor  Powers,  of  Eastern  Minn.  Ry...  5.00 

Children's  Home  Finder,  by  E.  P.  Savage  5.00 

Loyal  Legion  of  Temperance,  by  Mrs.  L.  L.  Maire 2.50 

D.  Morrison,  of  Duluth  1.00 

Mrs.  Dapron  1.00 

Wholesale  merchants  (discount  on  merchandise)  119.62 

St  Paul  relief  committee  13,325.54 

:St.  Paul  relief  committee  (per  Pine  City  relief  committee) 5CO.CO 

.St.  Paul  relief  committee  (per  J.  F.  Jackson) 45.00 


Total  contributed  from  St.   Paul  $23,086.66 


36 


Report  of  State  Commission. 


Deduct:    Disbursed  for  fire  sufferers  by  local  committee   (s?e 

page   9)    ...................................................................  1.E09.01 

"W.  P.  Broug-hton,   to  Pine  City  committee,  $23  (see  p.   33)  ...... 

St.  Peter;  C.  F.  Brown  .....................................................  $5.  CO 

"Fats  and  Leans"  Base  Ball  .........................................  231.60 

Citizens    ..................................................................  ...  115.77 


St.  Thomas;  Catholic  Church  .............................................. 

Sauk  Center;  City  and  citizens  .......................................... 

Sleepy  Eye;  Village  ........................................................ 

South  Wilton;  Sunday  school  ............................................. 

Spring-field;    "Concert"    ....................................................... 

Soudan   (see  Tower). 

Spring-  Valley;  Citizens  ..................................................... 

Stillwater;    Citizens,    to   Pine   City   committee,   $200    (see   page   39). 

P.    Huntoon,    to   Pine   City   committee,   $5   (see  page  3£). 

$2,830    received    and    distoarsed    by    Stillwater    local    committee 
Stewart;  Village  Council  ................................................... 

Citizens    ..................................................................... 


Sturgeon  Lake;  A.  H.  Clark,  $5.00,  to  Pine  City  committee 
Geo.  E.  Cunningham,  $23.00,  to  Pine  City  committee 
F.  Chimielewski,  $5.00,  to  Pine  City  committee  (see  p. 

Taylors  Falls;  to  Pine  City  committee,  $394,GO  (see  paga  39). 
Hon.  A.  F.  Anderson,  to  Pine  City  committee,  $3) 

Tower  and  Soudan;  Citizens 

Thief  River  Falls;  Norwegian  Lutheran  Evangelical  church 

Vernon  Creek;  \V.  C.  T.  U 

Wabasha;  Citizens 

Waconia;   Citizens 

Warren  ;  Car  wheat  sold  at  73  cents  per  bushel 

Waseca;   People  .....................................................  .,  m 

Churches    ........................................................    , 


(see 
(see 
39). 

(see 


Wasioja;  Mrs.  Mary  Mason 

Township  of  Wasicja,  per  St.  Paul  committ 


Watertown;   Citizen3 
Waterville;  Citizens 
Citizens 


Watson  Creek;  Sewing  society  

West    Duluth;    S.    A.    Ebert,    to    Pine    City    committee,    $25    (see 


21,577.  C5 


382.37 
23.00 

332.  -D 
23.00 
7.79 
28.4D 


$50.00 
55.00 


$79  42 
94.50 


$1.25 
100.00 


402.48 
15.58 
8.50 
100.00 
150.00 
478.10 


101.25 
7855 


67.85 


Report  of  State  Commission. 


3T 


White  Bear;  South  Side  Sunday  school,  per  St.  Paul  committee... 

Citizens,   to  Pine  City  committee,   $196.17  (see  page  39). 

A.    L.    Linau,    to   Pine  City  committee,  $5.00  (see  page  39). 

White  Earth;  Citizens  

Willmar;  Village  $182.00 

Citizens    ..  25.15 


Windom;  J  H.   Clark  

Winona;    Citizens   

Worthington;   Citizens  

\Vykoff;  Citizens  

Wylie;    Citizens    

Wyoming;    Citizens,    to    Pine    City    committee,    $83    (see    page  39). 
Young  America:  A.   S.   Malmgren  


1,500.00 
28.33 
32.00 
14.50 


Total  from  Minnesota  $70,147.50 

EXHIBIT  C. 

RECAPITULATION   OF  HOUSES'  ERECTED  AND  ALLOTMENTS   OF  LUM- 
BER   MADE    TO    FIRE   SUFFERERS. 


LOCALITY. 


5 

2 

5_o 

(S^ 

H 

o 

o 

P3 

w 

EU 

"^ 

hinckley    village    

33 

6 

7 

• 

4V 

Hinckley   vicinity   

8 

6 

10 



34 

Sandstone  village   

SO 

5 

23 

3 

eo 

Sandstone  vicinity  

2 

2 



6 

Pokegama   

4 

4 

3 



11 

Mission  Creek  

1 

7 

3 

11 

Sandstone   Juncticn    

4 

5 

5 

11 

Finlayson  

5 

7 

2 



14 

Miller  

1 

1 

4 



Partridge  

1 

3 

4 

Grindstone    Lake    

2 

1 

3 

Pine  City  vicinity  

2 

1 

3 

Rutledge    

2 

2 

Brown's  Hill    

1 

1 

Ruch  City 

j 

Totals    .. 

96 

53 

62 

4 

215 

EXHIBIT  D. 

RJDPORT  OF  PINE  CITY  LOCAL.  COMMITTEE. 
Receipts. 

Illinois;    Sunday-school  at  Aurora,  

Sunday-school   at   Biswood 


$5.CO 
1.77 


$6.77 


38 


Report  of  State  Commission. 


Iowa;    Dr.  Hukins  &  Bro 10.00 

New  York;    Citizen  of  Cambridge 5.00 

A.  P.   Noyes   2.50 

P.  A.   Guthrie 1.00 

"Unknown"    1.00 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  R.  F.  Paxton 5.CO 

Mrs.  W.  De  Hart  1.00 

Alexandria,  Minn.;    Rev.  H.  B.  F.  Lansem 15.00 

Bald  Eagle;    P.   Leary 1.00 

Harris;    P.    H.    Stalberg $100.00 

Citizens   of   Harris 37.75 

'illage  of  Harris 100.00 

237.75 

Faribault;    W.  C.  Le  Crone  7.00 

Isanti;    P.  E.  Fedine 2. CO 

Lindstrom;    Citizens1 83.00 

North    Branch;    Citizens 100.00 

Rutledge;    Rutledge   Lumber   Company $103.00 

Employes  of  Rutledge  Lumber  Company 17:. CO 

275.00 
St.   Paul;    local   committee $5GO.CO 

W.   B.   Broughton   25. CO 

•      $525.00 

Rush   City;    Village    250.00 

Stillwater ;     Citizens $200.00 

P.   Huntoon 5.00 

205.00 

Sturgeon  Lake;    A.  H.   Clark   $5. CO 

George  E.  Cunningham   .  25.CO 

F.  Chimielewski  5.CO 

35.00 
Taylors   Falls;     Citizens $334.60 

Aug.    F.    Anderson 50. CO 

444.60 

West  Duluth;    L.  A.  Elbert 25.00 

White  Bear;     Citizens    $198.17 

A.    L.   Lienau    5-CO 

.        201.17 

Wyoming;    Citizens' 83  00 

Total   receipts    $2  521  79 

Disbursements. 
Paid  orders  drawn  by  Pine  City  relief  committee  for  relief  of  flre 

sufferers $1,372.72 

Paid  Kenneth  Clark,  treasurer  State  Relief  Commission,  account 

St.  Paul  local  committee   500  QQ 

Paid  Kenneth  Clark,  treasurer- State  Relief  Commission 649.07 

Total  disbursements  —        —  $2  521  79 


Report  of  State  Commission.  39 

REPORT  OF  THE  CLOQUET  LOCAL  COMMITTEE. 
Receipts. 

Cash  contributions  $989.85 

Disbursements. 
Lumber  purchased  for  fire  sufferers  in  Carlton  and  Pine  counties.       $306.76 

Merchandise  purchased  for  Carlton  county  sufferers 361.83 

Freight  paid  on  same  31.14 

Cash  to  Cromwell  fire  sufferers 60.00 

Expenses  of  the  committee   30.12 


Total  disbursements  

Additional  contributions  of  lumber,  clothing,  groceries,  furniture, 

etc.,  distributed  to  fire  sufferers 900.00 

REPORT  OF   THE   STILLWATER   LOCAL  COMMITTEE. 
Receipts. 

Cash   contributiors $3,000.00 

Disbursements. 

To  Pine  City  local  committee $200.00 

Expended  for  the  relief  of  fire  sufferers 2,800.00 


Total   disbursements    $3,000.00 

Additional  contributions  of  lumber,  provisions  and  clothing,  dis- 
tributed to  fire  sufferers  3,000-00 

REPORT  OF  THE  WHITE  BEAR  LOCAL  COMMITTE'S. 
Receipts. 

Cash  donations  $359.50 

Disbursements. 

To  Pine  City  local  committee  $196.17 

Expended  for  relief  of  fire  sufferers 146.24 

Dalance  subject  to  order  of  State  Relief  Commifsion 17.C9 


Total  disbursements  $:53.50 


The  above  report  do33  not  include  donations  of  provisions,  clothing,  etc. 

REPORT  OF  ST.  CLOUD  LOCAL  COMMITTEE. 

ST.  CLOUD,  Minn.,  Dec.  26,  1894. 

Hon.  C.  A.  Pillsbury,  Chairman  Minnesota  State  Fire  Relief  Com- 
mission, Minneapolis,  Minn. 

Etear  Sir: — At  the  request  of  your  Honorable  Commission,  the 
St.  Cloud  Committee  entered  upon  the  duties  assigned  to  it  in  dis- 
tributing the  relief  to  the  suffering  settlers  at  and  around  the  vil- 
lage of  Milaca,  who  lost  property  in  the  recent  disastrous  forest 
fires,  and  beg  herewith  to  submit 'a  complete  report  of  the  aid  ex- 
tended in  that  locality. 


40  Report  of  State  Commission. 

TREASURER'S  STATEMENT. 
Receipts. 

From  State  Fire  Relief  Commission  £4,132.50 

Cash    contributions    1,254.46 


Total   receipts    


Disbursements. 

Net  amount  expended  for  Milaca  sufferers £4,529.47 

Goods  bought  and  sent  to  Pokegama 414.90 

Caring  for  Joseph  Zonyea  (Pokegama  sufferer)  at  St.  Raphael's 

Hospital,   St.   Cloud   142.02 

Expenses  of  committee,  agents'  salaries,  clerk  hire  and  rent 300.57 


Total  disbursements   $5,38S.S6 


The  clothing  and  provisions  contributed  by  the  citizens  of  St.  Cloud  and  the 
clothing  shipped  by  the  State  Commission  to  Milaca  are  not  included  in  the  above 
statement,  but  were  distributed  among  the  needy  sufferers  gratuitously. 

While  we  have  aimed  to  do  equal  and  exact  justice  to  all,  we  may 
have  failed  in  some  cases  through  unreliable  information,  although 
we  have  been  very  careful  to  pass  upon  no  application  until  investi- 
gated by  our  own  agent  and  approved  by  him,  and  then  submitted 
to  the  local  relief  committee  at  Milaca  and  in  turn  approved  by  it. 

Believing  that  we  could  better  serve  the  interests  of  the  sufferers 
by  furnishing  them  with  such  goods  as  they  needed,  bought  by  us 
at  wholesale  prices  for  cash,  than  to  give  them  money  to  use  in  their 
limited  market:,  we  rented  a  vacant  store  building  in  the  village  of 
Milaca,  shipped  in  staple  goods — consisting  mostly  of  groceries 
and  supplies — and  placed  in  charge  of  the  station  thus  established 
i.lr.  John  F.  Jerrard,  of  this  city,  who  proved  well  qualified  for  the 
position. 

We  have  paid  out  less  than;  $200  to  the  sufferers  in  money,  fur- 
nishing them  nearly  the  full  amount  of  their  allowance  in  goods  at 
cost,  charging  nothing  for  freight  or  the  handling  of  the  goods. 
You  will  notice  from  this  report  that  \ve  have  expended  in  relief 
$1,254.46  in  excess  of  the  amount  received  from  your  commission, 
which  was  paid  from  a  fund  contributed  by  the  citizens  of  St.  Cloud 
and  vicinity. 

In  this  connection  wre  will  state  that  we  bought  goods  to  the 
amount  of  $414.90,  which,  with  one  carload  of  contributed  good> 
we  took  to  Pokegama  on  the  3d  day  of  September,  being  the  first 
relief  from  the  outside  brought  into  that  locality.  Subsequently 
another  carload  of  provisions,  fjuilding  material,  tools  and  clothing 
was  sent  to  Pokegama  which  was  placed  at  their  own  disposal. 

On  September  3d  we  also  left  at  Pokegama  a  crew  of  men  who 
searched  the  country,  and,  with  the  aid  of  the  Rev.  William  Wilkin- 


Report  of  State  Commission.  41 

son,  who  arrived  later,  gave  burial  to  seventeen  bodies  at  the  ex- 
pense of  our  committee. 

In  addition  to  the  aid  rendered  these  people  at  Milaca,  as  enum- 
erated in  the  following  schedules,  your  commission  sent  a  large 
amount  of  clothing  there,  on  which  our  committee  paid  the  freight 
and  our  agent,  Mr.  Jerrard,  assisted  the  Milaca  committtee  in 
distributing  the  same. 

As  many  of  these  sufferers  live  in  the  wxxxb,  we  did  not  deem  it 
advisable  to  build  all  frame  houses  and  buildings,  but  furnished  only 
such  material  as  could  not  be  obtained  in  the  surrounding  timber, 
and,  in  our  opinion,  they  are  all  comfortably  housed.  The  amount 
expended  in  this  direction  was  about  $1,000. 

It  is  our  judgment  that  a  large  number  of  these  Milaca  people  will 
need  seed  and  farming  utensils  in  the  spring  with  which  to  carry  on 
their  farming  operations,  and  we  presume  that  the  legislature  will 
take  proper  action  in  the  premises. 

\\'e  wish  to  acknowledge  the  valuable  assistance  and  hearty  co- 
operation of  the  local  committee  at  Milaca  which  contributed  imme- 
diate relief  to  many  of  the  sufferers  previous  to  the  action  taken  by 
us. 

The  expenses  of  distribution  of  relief  will  be  between  five  and  six 
per  cent,  and  we  believe  that  we  have  very  nearly  succeeded  in  sat- 
isfying the  sufferers  in  that  locality,  and  trust  that  our  efforts  will 
receive  the  approval  of  your  honorable  commission. 

•(Signed  by)     H.  J.  AXDERSOX,  President; 
ALYAH   EASTMAN,   Secretary; 
JOHN  COATES, 
JOHN  DE  LES, 
J.  F.  BRADFORD, 

St.  Cloud  Local  Committee. 

EXHIBIT  E. 

LIST  OF  SUFFERERS  BY  FOREST  FIRES  SEPTEMBER, 

1894,  REGISTERED  BY  THE  STATE  RELIEF 

COMMISSION. 

NOTE.— The  registration  is  intended  to  include  all  of  the  fire  sufferers, 
whether  they  received  relief  or  not.  Under  "received  relief"  are  included  all 
who  received  relief,  however  small  in  amount,  consisting,  in  some  cases,  only 
of  railroad  transportation  or  a  few  articles  of  clothing. 

"w"    Indicates  widow   or  widower. 


Report  of  State  Commission. 

HIXCKLEY  FIRE  DISTRICT. 
HINCKLEY. 


=  o> 
NAME                                                                                     fe| 

Present  nt 
time  of  fire. 

Not  present 
time  of  tire. 

o 

Nels  Parsons    1       7 

7 

» 

Chas.   Lund    I       4 
Wm.  Kelly   i       5 

4 

T 

4 

4,.... 
5'.  .  .  . 

L.  H.  Clow  6 

6 

6  .... 

B.  L.  Clow                                                            i 

i 

i  .  .  .  . 

Nels  Wingren    4 
John  McNamara   .  .                                                 i 

4 
i 

4.... 

I  1  .   , 

Eske  Norton    i 
Oscar  Hanson    i 
Jos.  Cloutier   I 
Carl  La  Brass  i 

i 
i 

i 
i 

i  .  .  .  . 
i  .... 
i  .... 
i  .  .  .  . 

Jas.  O.  Burse                                                            3 

2 

I 

-? 

Chas.   Borg    .                                                            2 

2 

Frank   Beckwith    .                                                   2 

I 

I 

2 

Chas.  Fraser   i 

I 

Henrv  Carter  i 

I 

Chas.  Carter  i 

Mary  Hanson   i 

I 

Hans  Wingren                                                          i 

j 

Andrew  Nelson                                                         7 

Rev.  A.  Holmgren                                                      3 

I 

3! 

John  E.  Hanson  .                                                    c 

1  •  •    • 

James  Rowley  i 

I 

•  •  •  • 
I 

Nat  Richner  i 

T 

ll 

Nicholas  Pau!sc:i  i 

I 

Louis  Uhlin  i        i 

T 

Albert  Schlussler                                                      3 

-3 

August  Schlussler   2 
Win.  Ricketson  c. 

O 

I 

I 

Martin  Anderson  

J 

.  .  .  . 

Victor  Borg                                                        1 

Samuel   Richards 

|  .... 

Fred  Anderson     

Ole  Johnson  

Jos    Lund                                                            1 

.... 

w.  Hans  Paulson 

T  I 

w.  John  Bean  2 

1 

T 

Iol 

John  Gustafson  

21:  ... 

j 

Nels  Benson  .. 

T 

.... 

Report  of  State  Commission. 


43 


NAME. 

Persons 
included. 

*! 

§*o 

V  <D 

PH..- 

11 

43   <O 
H 

1- 

|!§ 
0-3 

Is 

Received  no 
relief. 

Gust  Bjork  

2 

2 

2 

John   Espenbach  

4 

I 

7 

I 

7 

Peter  Jensen  

I 

I 

I 

O    L   Setterluncl 

I 

I 

I 

C    I    Bray                                            .  .      

I 

I 

1 

Peter  Clint                           

4 

4 

A 

C  A   Carlson                       

I 

i 

I 

Peter  Hokan^on                

7 

7 

•» 

w.  Mrs  Otto  Olson  

I 

I 

I 

w   Mrs   John  Westerlund  

i 

i 

I 

\v    Nels  Frisk     

i 

i 

I 

Joseph   Barden  

8 

8 

8 



Chas.  Larson    

4 

4 

4 



w.  Mrs.  Chris.  Tornell  

i 

i 

i 

vv.  Airs.  Lucy  Alichelmore  

i 

i 

Hans  Hokanson 

2 

vv   Lvddy  Detheck 

i 

I 

Fred  Bergquist 

* 

Jennie  Irish 

i 

I 

vv   Dan  Donahue 

T. 

T. 

7 

Robert  Dowling 

7 

'I 

7 

w.  W.  B.  Grissinger  
w.  Martin  Alartinson        

2 
2 

2 
2 

2 
2 

L.  A.  Beeman  

T. 

T. 

7 

Ted  Warberton  

C. 

C 

Anthony  Anderson                  > 

2 

2 

2 

vv   \Vm    Beeniis 

I 

I 

I 

Andrew   Johnson 

I 

I 

I 

W   H    Novvark                    

I 

I 

I 

John  Stanchfield        

q 

C 

0 

\v  John  Hawley  

8 

8 

8 

F    \   Gustafson 

2 

2 

7 

Adolph  Anderson                                   .  . 

I 

I 

T 

John  Alarig'an                             

T. 

7 

7. 

Xels  Setterquist              

T 

I 

T 

Albert  Fraser         

C 

C 

5 

A 

Eric  Nelson 

I 

I 

i 

i\j    L    Elsmore                             

1 

I 

I 

C    Al    Johnson              

I 

ll 

i 

I 

I 

C  A  Duff      

si 

i 

7, 

™    Mr<;    Marv  McNeil  .. 

ti 

*"'l 

al 

44 


Report  Of  State  Commission. 


gi 

si 

NAME                                                                             £"» 

PL,_3 

Present  at 
time  of  fire. 

Not  present 
time  of  fire. 

Received 
relief. 

Received  no 
relief. 

Geo    Lott                                                                3 

4| 

7| 

H   A   Schmalin°r                                                      3 

?\ 

E.  J.  McEachron      .                                          6 

^ 

6 

John  Erickson  4 

4  .  . 

4-! 

Ole  Rosclahl  7 

7 

Jos    Tew                                                                    Q 

IQ 

Jos    Kronenberg                                                       7 

7\ 

Thos    Reppl        ..                                                     i 

I 

j 

Peter  Dahlstrom        .  .                                             I 

l| 

j  | 

Gus.  Martinson   i 

I| 

j  ! 

Kels  Anderson  4 

4.1 

Hilma   Johnson  I 

l| 

rl 

John  W.  Stockholm   5 
\Vm    Craig                                                              "? 

Si--.- 

o| 

5!...- 

w.  Mike  Connor  3 

0!  •  •  •  • 

r 

.... 

7| 

Wm.  Barrett                                                              i 

T 

w.  Mrs.  Marv  Booth                                               3 

0| 

ol 

w.  Benj.  Sweet  ...                                                     c 

o\  •  '  •  • 
c 

ol  •  •  •  • 

C 

J.  M.  Currie  !       5 

c 

?•  

John  Larson   ! 

J 

Oi  •  •  •  • 
I 

Peter  Palm  

! 

T| 

C.  A.  Almquist 

Peter  Flinn  .     .                                                 ) 

2 

o 

Sam.   Newland  ..   . 

I 

•«•••. 

R.  A.  Freeman  1 

1  1     ' 

j 

w.  John  Blanchard  2 

2l 

Aaron  Olson  5 

C 

e 

Emil  Olson  .                                                               2 

ol 

Soren  Johnson  ...                                                    i 

^1  .... 

TJ 

Andrew  Peterson  .                                            |       i 

Tl 

1|    .     .     .     . 
T 

Andrew  Stone  3 

7l 

7l 

Mike  Dunn  3 

ol  •  •  •  • 

ol 

i'" 

Newman  Ewings  i 

ol  •  •  •  • 

j 

?;::: 

Allen  Wight   3 

7 

11.  .  .  . 

-ji 

Pat  Connaker  <p 

31-  •  •  • 

31-  •  •  • 

Louise  Heisler  |       j 

^         7 

7 

T 

Tena  Heisler  ...                                                       j 

i    |    .... 

T   1 

J.  Fitzgerald  I 

T 

I|.      .     .     . 

T  I 

Stella  Bishop  I 

1|  .   .  .   . 
I 

I|.      .     .     . 
T 

w.  A.  E.  Craig  2 

Henrv  Richards  ..                                                    o 

Carl  Vanhooven  j| 

9  .... 

Q 

T 

Geo.  J.  Morast  ..                                           1       2 

? 

I|  .  .  .  . 

ol 

Report  of  State  Commission. 


45 


NAME. 

ll 

£  3 

o>"o 

Present  at 
time  of  firo. 

c  * 
$« 

1° 
ll 

Received 
relief. 

Received  no 
relief. 

Orville  Cox   3 

7 

7    .   . 

E.  D.  Mitchell  6 

6 

6.... 

Chas    McKean                                                        i 

i 

i 

w   Lee  Webster                                                       i 

i 

i 

D    McLaren                                                               i 

i 

James  Rilev      ....                                               i 

i 

i 

w   Douglas  Greelev                                                3 

i 

2 

? 

C.  R.  Lonergan  ....                                           i 

i 

i 

Mrs.  Mary  Norton                                                   6 

2 

A 

6 

S.  G.  Hallman  2 

2 

2 

John  Yanderbeck  5 

C 

cl 

Horace  Gorton  .     .                              i 

T 

I 

Mrs.  Ella  Thompson  2 

-7 

2 

w.  Mike  Lynch  .        3 

7. 

3   .  . 

Frank  Baumchen  i 

I'.   ... 

Dan  Mclver   6 

6 

6  

Wm.  Schmaling  i 
Jos.  Williams  8 

i 
8 

i|.... 
8  

w.  Peter  Johnson  I 

i 

i  .  .  .  . 

Frank  Morgan  3 

T. 

7|.  . 

w.  Chas.  Xystrom  i 

I 

Anton  CoJberg  i 

I 

j 

Henrv  Garberg   i 

I 

l|.... 

Louis  Xelson                                                             2 

2 

2i 

Peter  Gustafson                                                         i 

I 

I 

Stiner  Peterson      .  .                                                 i 

I 

I 

Fred  Hanson  i 

I 

I 

James  Hanley  i 

I 

I  .  . 

John  Frisk  I 

I 

l|  

John   Xelson   i 

I 

l|..     . 

Xels  Cox                                                                    i 

I 

l| 

Thomas  O'Gorman                                                  Q 

o! 

Garrett   Corrigan                                                      3 

2 

-j 

H   P   Hanson  .                                i 

I 

i 

Noble  Wilson  i 

Andrew  Anderson  4 

I 

4 

i.... 

4 

Andrew  Granstrom                                                  4 

A 

A\ 

w   Herman  Stehnke                                    •   •  •  1       3 

\ 

•7 

1\ 

John  Hogan  1       2 

\            -> 

2\ 

w    M    Hammond      i 

I 

T 

J    O    Coffin                                                               4 

1 

A\ 

Henrv  Coffin                                       I       2 

I 

4|  .... 

2\ 

Geo.  D.  Bartlett  .  .                                                  I 

I 

ll.. 

Report  of  State  Commission. 


NAME. 

II  J| 

P4  3        £  g 

Not  present 
time  of  fire. 

Received 
relief. 

Received  no 
relief. 

w.  Nels  Nelson  

j          i 

il  .  , 

Pat  Lawless  

3!       T. 

7  .  . 

John   Brennan  .  .  . 

ol       c 

0 

Phillip   Baumchen   
C.  J.  Johnson  

i        i 
i        i 

I  .... 

IJ 

Jos    Russell 

2          2 

2 

Nels  Mortenson 

6       6 

61 

John  McGinnis      .  . 

j        i 

John  H    Nelson 

i        i 

Carrie  Peterson 

i        i 

Ole  Johnson  

T               I 

w.  Geo.  W.  Roach  

9 

Thos.   Campbell    

I               I 

I 

James  Cummins  .... 

I               I 

T 

John  Lindstrom  .      .  . 

I               I 

J 

M.  L.  Miller  

4.1         A 

4.1 

John  Luchsinger  

61      6 

6 

T.  T.  Clark 

il       i 

T 

w.  Mary  Cathcart 

j 

Nellie  Me  Go  wan 

i        i 

J 

Phil.  Barrett  .... 

w.  Mrs.  Nancy  Murphy 

A          A 

.... 

James  Duff  

5c 

rl 

Clara  Turgeon  

il          I 

01  •  •  •  • 

Hans  Olson  

4              A 

J.  H.  Willard  

I           j 

Dr.  E.  L.  Stephan  

I           i 

Wm.  Dunn  

j           j 

1                    T 

w.  Mrs.  Sarah  Barry   
Emil  Bjork   

6.... 

il       i 

6 

6'.... 

i 

Wm.  Cathcart  

4.1         4. 

4.1 

H.  S.  Bartlett  

i!       i 

j 

D.  S.  Scott  

r              r 

Chas.   Lind   

J\            J 
9.             1 

Chas.  Olson  

d       * 

.... 

Eva  Hopkins   .   . 

Ol          J 

.... 

A.  Williams  

il       i 

T 

Hjalmer  Lundborg  .. 

I                 J 

1 

W.  F.  Gray  

ol              -3 

I 

Joe  DeMarsh  

il           T 

o,  •  •  •  • 

Chas.  Lawson    

2l          2! 

J.  T.  Craig  

2            9\ 

w.  Mrs.  Henrv  Hanson  .. 

7           7l 

•7 

Beport  of  State  Commission. 


NAME. 

S"S 

II 

£-^a 

;| 

g"S 

%  c 

£.§ 

Not  present 
time  of  fire. 

Received 
relief. 

Received  no 
relief. 

James  Morrison     ... 

2 

2 

2 

Rev.  Peter  Knutson  

2 

2 

2 

S.  W.  Anderson  

4 

4 

4 

• 

Alex.  Cameron  

2 

2 

2 

Pat    Glennon 

I 

I 

I 

Alich    Marooney 

I 

I 

I 

H    W   Miller 

7 

Chas  Warner 

I 

I 

I 

James  Karricran 

I 

I 

I 

Wm  J    Hughes 

6 

6 

6 

John  Sjocjuist 

^ 

7 

7 

Isidore   Cohen 

c. 

I 

A 

c 

Ida  Larson       .       ... 

I 

I 

I 

Luther  Trotter      

I 

I 

I 

Charles  Swanson    

I 

I 

I 

Benj.  C.   Bartlett  

-7 

7 

7 

\v.  Mrs.  Axel  Hanson  

4 

4 

James  Jordan   ,  

8 

8 

8 

Ernest   Leske    

c 

i 

A 

e 

T.  H.  Young  

c 

c 

c 

R.  C.  Saunders  

I 

i 

I 

A.  C.  Hav  

I 

i 

I 

Louis  Davis 

i 

I 

John  Welch 

J 

i 

I 

D.  Brennan    .  .    .  . 

_ 

7 

7 

Mike  Carlson  

I 

I 

I 

August  Lindborg  .... 

I 

I 

T 

Jos.  Carl  

I 

I 

\v.  Marv  M.  Pratt  

7 

7 

7 

John  Westman   

I 

I 

T 

Larry  Murphy  

I 

I 

T 

Frank  Lord 

A 

I 

J 

Thos.  W.  Bartlett 

J 

I 

T 

John   Brodie  .   . 

I 

I 

I 

Oscar  Knowlton  .    .  , 

I 

I 

I 

John  Miller  

2 

2 

2 

w.  John  Cathcart  

I 

I 

T 

Geo.  Nevers  

T 

7 

Al  Olena   

I 

I 

Mav  Vaughn 

J 

I 

j 

John  Armstrong  

T 

I 

I 

w.  John  McNaman  
John  K.  Anderson  .. 

4 

q 

4 
«; 

.... 

4 
«; 

.... 

48 


Report  of  State  Commission. 


NAME. 


S"S      *< 


Andrew  Carlson 

I 

il       ^ 

Alfred  Sockv  

i 

I 

i 

J.  E.  Welsinger  

I 

I 

j 

John  Roach  

I 

I 

i 

Pat.  Hogan  

I       i 

I 

i 

Nelson  Henry  

A 

A 

4.! 

w.  Mrs.  Fritz  Droel  
Wm.   Jordan 

I      6 

2, 

2 

6 

6|.... 

2\ 

Joe  Rilev   

2 

2 

^|  .... 

Chas.   Enge  

j 

j 

T 

Mike  Garitv  

|         2 

2 

2 

Paul   Cornier  

j 

j 

j 

w.  Airs.  Cecelia  Johnson 

i         ^ 

2 

2\ 

H.  Xiblette  

I 

I 

l| 

Ed.  Mason  

I 

j 

T 

w.  B.  A.  Larson  

•3 

•?! 

August  Borg  

2. 

2 

Oi  •  •  •  • 
2 

R.  J.  Hawlev  

I 

T 

l| 

Andrew  Campbell  

j 

j 

j  ! 

Otto  Skamser  

j 

T 

C.  J.  Nelson  

Mrs.  Ida  Janda  

j 

T 

j| 

Freda  Grandberg   

j 

J 

Delore  Fortin  .  . 

T| 

w.  John  Braff  ... 

i|  .  .  .  . 

A\ 

Chas.   Bjorklund  

4 
•  -                           I 

• 

T 

41  .... 

w.  Sam  Estes  

j          j 

Ed.  Carlson  

T 

T 

.... 

Nels  Anderson   .   . 

Q 

01 

.... 

0 

Tames  Love  

o 

|         2 

J 

0|  ..... 

Albert  Lundgrcn  

1          i 

ll 

J 

Christ.  Dolmseth  
J.   T.   Hawlev    

'         I 

|          j 

I 

T 

I  .... 

James  Vishert   

1          ! 

.   .  .   . 

Wm.  Vishert    

j 

.  *  .   . 

J 

E.  L.  Neslund  ... 

1          T 

T 

II.  ... 

Frank  Jensen  

T 

I  

Tl 

John  Anderson  

T 

•M 

Walter  Scott 

I  .... 

J.  F.  Larson  

'      4 
|       j 

4 
f\ 

41  

Axel  Rosdahl   

|          j 

i 
Ti 

.  .  .  . 

,  i 

Peter  Nelson  

r 

_, 

Geo.  Turgeon  

,           f 

T 

b 

5  

T 

Report  of  State  Commission. 


49 


NAME. 


^       ^"-^ 

s 


Elmer  Torberson    .  .            .  |       I 

|        i 

ij.  .  .  . 

Rich.   Underwood  I 

I  

i  .  .  .  . 

w.  Mrs.  Nels  Nelson  6 

6  .... 

6  .... 

Joe  Wigue                                                                  i 

i| 

i| 

Paul  Johnson                                                             i 

i    - 

i 

Dr   D   W  Cowan                                                   i 

i  , 

i 

Albert  Erickson                                                         i 

i 

i 

John  Peterson                                                            3 

« 

7|.   . 

John  Anderson                                                          i 

I 

I    .... 

Andrew  Peterson                                                       i 

I    . 

w.  Mrs.  Claire  Turgeon                                           4 

4I  

A.  Richner  ....                                   .  .      .        2 

4.  . 
2  .... 

2  .... 

[oe  Savoy  .                     .  .        6 

6|  

6  

Mrs    Johanna  Gustafson                2 

2  .... 

2  .... 

Hans   Tofte    i 

I   .... 

l|.  .  .  . 

Josephine  Turg-eon  i 
Geo.   Parish   i 

I   

I   

I   

i!.... 

Anton  Larson  7 

7-  •'•  • 

7)  

Frank  Decoursev  2 

2  .... 

2  .  .  .  . 

Richard   Nesbitt  i 

ll.... 

I 

A    F    Murray                                                             i 

I 

j 

Rebecca  Sandber°"                                                    i 

I 

l|  

Sadie  Henry                                                               i 

l|  

I   .... 

Albert  Xelson                                                 .  .         i 

I   .... 

I   .  .  .  . 

Thomas  Lane                                            ...        3 

T.I.  . 

^ 

Emma  Olson         i 

I    .... 

l\  

Louis  Lundy  i 
Aaron   Gustafson    i 

.  .  .  .             I 
....             I 

i].-... 

ll.... 

Mary  Anderson  i 

I    

I   .  .  .  . 

Frank  Alurrav                                                           i 

I       ... 

I  .  .  .  . 

\Vm    Fitzsimmoiij                                                    i 

ll  

I  .  .  .  . 

Peter  Cox                                       i 

....             I 

I  .  .  .  . 

w   John  Sullivan        i 

....           I 

7 

7 

Ed.  Mickelson  i 

ij 

i  .  .  .  . 

w   Airs    Charlotte  Hnnsc'i                                      i 

I 

i     ... 

Xavier  Bone                                                     .        2 

2  .... 

2  .  .  .  . 

Fric  Johnson              i 

I   

I   .  .  .  . 

Mons   Cleveland    i 

i!.... 

l|  

\Vm    Johnson                                                            i 

i 

l| 

Chas.  Olin  i 

i  .... 

I   .  .  .  . 

Kate  Nelson                               .       i 

i|  

i! 

John   Brothen  .  .                                                             I 

i  .-. 

i 

150 


Report  of  State  Commission. 


II 

NAME.                                                                                     «.  U 

P-l  Z 

Present  fit 
time  of  fire. 

P£ 
S'-s 

b 

l| 

•O 

!«' 

Rcceivofl  no 
relief. 

Mike  O'Gara  I 

I 

T.  Sparemell                                                               I 

I 

Jesse  Oilman  ....                                                i 

I 

Robert  Johnson  .         i 

I 

Frank   Swenson   i 

I 

Ole   Hanson   !       4 

-j 

4. 

\v.  Hannah  Risberg  5 

*^ 

c; 

Albert  Wickstrom  i 

I 

Wm.  Carlson  ...                                                     i 

j 

M.  A.  Stroinskv  .  ..                                                  i 

I 

j 

Wm.   Lee  i 

I 

I 

Harrv  Olson   1        i 

I 

j 

G.  j.  Albrecht  4 

Chas.  O.  Anderson  7 

7 

7" 

Clias.  Peterson  3 

? 

1 

Peter  Peterson   i       2 

2 

2 

M.  S.  Collins   i 

I 

I 

w.  Airs.  John  Burke  1       4 

A 

Ben  Xelson  .                                                     I       4 

Henrv  Maps  i       i 

^ 
j 

j 

Joe  Fournier  '       i 

j 

j 

John  Hopkins  .  .                                               1       i 

j 

C.  Warberton  1 

J 

j 

Mrs.  W.  M.  Stevens  •       ^ 

-3 

Dennis  Dunn  i       i 

I 

I 

O.  Rasmusson  !        i 

T 

j 

T.  J.  Sweenev  !       j 

I 

I 

w.  Marinda  Ricketson  !       i 

I 

I 

Martin  Westrud   7 

7 

Christ  Peterson  !       4 

Christ  Britton  j       2 

.... 

•  •  ..  • 

Annie  Hintz  ! 

J 

.... 

.  •  -  • 

Helen  Peterson  ....                                                i 

H.  D.  Davis  "  i       8 

August  Walden   |       j 

7 

j 

Oscar  Anderson  !       i 

Jos.  Arndt  i       I 

Jesse  Badgeron   I       2 

"    "    '    * 

Louis  Bedard  i 

'    *    *    * 

Otto  Berg  I       j 

7 

.    .    .    . 

Victor  Borg  ! 

.  .  .  . 

*    *    '    * 

Albert  Borg  j 

,  i 

Victor  Carlson  . 

A 

.... 

i 

A\ 

Report  of  State  Commission. 


51 


-e         c 
1-3     ** 


w.  Andrew  Carlson  

1       i        i 

i|       i 

3l      3 
i        i 

8|      8 
l\       l 

lOJ       10 

i|       i 
i        i 

I 

T 
I, 

James  T.  Fairchild 

I 

3 

"8 

James  Hemming  . 

Ole  Frederickson  .  .  . 

James  W.  Green  
Sim  Green 

Andrew  Gunderson 

10 

• 

HU°D  Gustatson 

Conrad  Gustafson   . 

Clara  Hanson  

i|       i 
4|       4 

T 



w.  Alary  Hanson   

Frank  Howard  

Marta  Hanson  

I 

Alex.  Iverson   

6 

i 
i 

5 
3 

2 

3 
i 

I 

I 
I 

I 
I 
I 
I 
I 

5 

i 

2 

3 
i 

c 

.... 
.... 
2 

3 

i 

5 

2 

I 

J.  Peter  Jenson  

Anton  Johnson   

August  Johnson  

Marv  Knowles 

Rev  E  J   Lawler 

Dr  Inez  A  Leg0" 

Martin  Halmaas 

Frank  Miller 

T  A  Miller 

Mrs  Laura  Aliller 

Thos   Alaroney 

Simon  Nelson         .                    .        

John  J.  Oftelie  ....                .  .            ... 

2 

5 
5 
i 
5 

3 
i 

2 

5 
5 

i 

5 

3 
i 

.... 

2 

5 

! 

5 

3 
i 

.... 

w.  Andrew  Olson  

Christ.  Olson   

Christ.  Olson    

John  Olson 

Nels  Olson 

Michael  O'Neil             ... 

John  Potterud       

4 
i 

i 
3 

2 

4 

5 

i 

4 
i 

3 

2 
I 

5 
i 
j 

3 

4 

i 
i 

1 

i 

5! 
i| 
i 

A 

3 

Fred  Robinson  ,  

^Marv  Robinson 

Chas  Sleight 

Cecelia  Stockholm           

Martin  Sletten  
O    H    Svastuen 

Annie  Swan  son 

Emily  Swanson     

Chris.  T.  Skamser  .  . 

A 

4l.... 

52 


Report  of  State  Comrnission. 


NAME. 


. 

s  I" 


John  Sletten                                                            5 

c 

' 

c 

w.  Mrs.  Chas.  Strum                                ...        3 

7 

7 

Tollef  Thompson  i 
Andrew  Torgerson                                                   3 

I 
7 

I 

.  .  .  . 
2 

Ole  Torgerson   ....                                               2, 

2 

2 

Louis  Ronneberg  I 

T 

I 

\Vm   Nixon                                                               4 

A 

Emma  Molin 

I 

J 

Joseph  Kroll  

I 

I 

Swan  Anderson  

I 

I 

Chas.  Swanson  

c 

John  Wald  . 

J 

Chas.  Waliberg  

I 

.... 

Totals  .  ,                                               .  .  im8 

QIO 

T?8 

021 

TT7 

HINCKLEY  VICINITY. 


Dan'l  Hoffman 

£ 

1       6 

61 

Herman  Lindau 

g 

1       u 

Q 

.... 

O|  .  .  .  . 

Q 

w.  George  Weireter 

T 

.... 

0|  .   .  .   . 

T 

Fred  Pino  

j 

1 

.... 

i\    •     .     .     . 

T| 

Swan  Johnson  

A 

A\ 

F.  T.  Russell  

•I 

Otto  Will  

2 

J 

31-  •  •  • 

A.  L.  Holm  

6 

g 

f. 

Simon  Benton  

2 

2 

Carl  Jencke  

C.  A.  Peterson  

A 

j 

1 

.  .  .  . 

A\ 

Thomas  Henderson  

7' 

j 

6 

6 

"7 

A.  G.  Lindblad  

/!•••• 

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Swan  Johnson  

• 

41  .... 

Peter  Gustafson    

7 

o 

J 

John  Best  

,, 

i 

SI---. 

Christian   Best 

4 

T 

4 

T 

4l  .  .  .  . 

Wells  De  Long  

1 

2 

2 

Nels  A.  Wicklund  .... 

.... 

rl 

E.  O.  Rask  

.... 

A\"" 

John  Bergman   

4 

41  .  .  .  . 
ci 

Andrew  Rask  

51-  •  •  • 
T  i 

Archie  McGowan  

j 

A 

j 

A 

i|  .  .  .  . 

A\ 

Chas.  Peterson   

TO 

ITO 

41  .... 
Tr>l 

Ernst  Weser,  Jr  

IOJ.  .  .  . 

T  i 

John  Nelson  

T 

T 

TJ 

Report  of  State  Commission. 


53 


si 

P 

NAME.                                                                                         e"o 

P*_a 

Present  nt 
Mine  of  firo. 

Not  present 
time  of  tire. 

o 

1$  !* 

|s    gs 

John  Patrick  4 

4 

4!  .... 

Chas.  J.  Johnson  8 

8 

8...; 

.Andrew  Nelson                                                          I 

I 

l|    , 

-Ernst  \Yeser,  Sr  2 

2 

2  .... 

Henrv  Hundertmark                                                 I 

I 

I   .... 

Samuel  Xeil  .                  4 

4 

4  .... 

Robert  D.  McDonald  I 
\v.  Xoble  Sherman  I 

I 

i  .... 
i  .... 

Jos.  Almsberger  5 

3 

2 

c  .  . 

Axel  Peterson                                                            I 

I 

i 

A  W  Peterson                                                        2 

2. 

2! 

w    John  Peterson                                                      4 

4.1 

Emil  Worp                                                                 I 

I 

I 

James  Sexton  ....                         I 

I 

I 

Chas.  Barriau  .                     T 

I 

I 

Christ.  Sexton    I 
Jerry  Sexton   I 

I 

I 

.... 

I  .... 

l| 

Dennis  Sexton                                                           I 

I 

T 

Alike  Fitzgerald                                                        6 

6 

61 

Frank  Hanev                                                             i 

j 

T| 

Gustav  Wentz  I 

j 

ji 

Phillip  Heist  I 

i 

1             T 

John  Tenquist  5 

c 

ei 

w.  Mary  J.  Doremus  7 
\v.  Mrs.  Christiana  Cane  3 

7 

•3 

.... 

7|.... 
^ 

Chas.  Holmstrom  .                                                   o 

Q! 

M.  C.  Dean  i 

I 

VI  •  •  •  • 

l| 

James  Oredson   i 

1 

j 

Louis  Paulson  |       3 

9\ 

\v.  Mrs.  Louis  Chambers  i 

I 

I     . 

H.  Gender  |       4 

A 

A] 

John  Lundburg  i 

T 

4|  .... 

T  I 

Totals  '(  183 

171 

12 

i|.    .    .    .- 

l8l|        2 

SAXDSTOXE. 
Martin  Nelson  J       i 

\v.  August  Anderson  I 

T 

ij 

John  Xelson        .  .                                                     i 

T 

Tl 

A.  G.  Johnson  i 

.... 

11  .  .  .  . 

r] 

Frank  Westergreen  i 

J 

Otto  Stafverfeldt  .                                          .    1       2 

2 

2 

54 


Report  of  State  Commission. 


si    y 

p     g-s 

NAME.  '                                                                                 £•§        £  « 

Not  present 
time  of  fire. 

Received 
relief. 

C 

11 

§s 

d 

And.  Lund                                                          !       T|       i 

l 

I 

1 

Ralph  Rasmusson   !       i         i 
\V  illiam  Lindeke  !        i        i 

I 
I 

George  Friesendahl  |       i         i 

I 

Hans  Kruse  !       6        6 

(- 

Ernst  Hogan   i       2        2 
J.  W.  Concannon  2        2 
Peter  Ogren                                                        '       A.        i 

-3 

2 
2 
I 

William  Severt                                                   ;       i        i 

•     j 

James  Carroll   3J       3 

•2 

Charles  F.  Anderson  !       6|       6 
Peter  Jones                                                            i       5        5 

.... 

6 

Albert  Glassow   ...                                         '       5l       5 

w.  Angus  Gunn  5        c 

Christ.  Heisler   4        4 

I 

Herman  Gast                                                             i        i 

R.  A.  Smith  33 

Stephen  O'Xeil  10^     10 

Mike  Bresnahan  I       i        i 

j 

George  Sutherland  i       i         i 

j 

Charles  Gustafson   |       5        i 

j 

Charles  Peterson   .  .                                                 i        i 

w.  Ole  Englund  ^        i 

Gus  Stemvall  j|       j 

Joe  Hagelin  . 

.... 

C.  Staples  4|        i 

Charles  Feldt  5!        j 

4 

A 

Gust  Peterson  !        j 

4 

-1 

4 

Charles  Pearson  . 

W.  0.  Pleas  7        7 

7 

.... 

M.  Fitzsimmons  I        I 

Octavo  Dube  6        j 

f. 

.... 

Charles  Upstrom  !        l 

Olaus  Holm  .                                                           A\ 

W.  W.  Jessmer  

.  .  .  . 

4 

- 

Peter  Lund  

.  .  .  . 

5 

M.  Bullis  d       i 

3 

Ole  Anderson    

5 

Thomas  McCov  .  .                                                   i        i 

.  .  .  . 

4 

August  Rouvell   2 

.  .  .  . 

1 

Thomas  Rorek  if  "i 

.  .  . 

Carl  Eliason  ....                                              '       i        i 

John  Monson  g' 

c 

T 

T 

c 

Report  of  State  Commission. 


NAME. 


«*  «-J  £ 

e*«  s«  "S  .  £  . 

1"3  §-g  II  3% 

SI     Ss  Is  3s  1B 


E.  O.  Stenmark  7 

I 

4 
I 

2 

4 
I 
I 

6 

i 

7 

2 

4 
i 

3 
3 
4 
i 
I 
i 

p; 

:::: 
:::: 
i 

;  .'  ;  .' 

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7 
4 

Gus.  Falk   .  .                                                              2 

John  Falk  ....                                                   I       4 

Xels  Flvkt  i 

William   Lindblom    .  .        3 

George  Meader    ^ 
Peter  Peterson   4 

Manda  Falk                                                                I 

Gus  Holmquist                                                     1        I 

August  Pearson   .  .                                                    i 

X.  W.  Thompson  ....            .  .                         i 

i 

6 

i 

4 
8 

4 

i 

4 
6 

9 

2 

4 

2 

I 

3 
i 

3 
i 

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7 
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Axel  Westin    7 
Ed.  Halverson   6 

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2 

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4 

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8 

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4 
6 

9 

2 

4 
3 

3 
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3 
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3 
7 
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Nels  Sjolander  '       i 

Eric  \Vallin                                                         1       4 

John  H    Friesendahl                                                8 

\eils  Bjorklund                                              .  .    !       5 

John  Giertson                              4 

Ole  Svvanson  3 

Frank  Hammerstad  ^     4 

w.  Ed.  Linehan  |       6 
T  E  Erickson                                                            9 

w   Ala°Tius  Ortenbln  1                            .      .  .  J       2 

John  S.  Lvnds  4 

T   P  Runnell                             '       3 

C   Kaljander                                        8 

Henrv  Wallin                             3 

John  Sundin       3 

A  ictor  Giertson                                3 

Gust  Giertson                        '       i 

Eric  Hanson  ]       i 
B.  Bjorklund  3 
Alatt  Hakinson                           I       7 

Alarv  Re°"an                                                        !        i 

Gust  E  M611                                              •    •  •        3 

3 

5 

.... 

3 

5 

.... 

N  P  Johnson             5 

4 

H 
i 

ii 

.... 

4 

2 
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::;; 

Isaac  Hassoo                         2 

E.  Torell   .                                               i 

56 


Report  of  State  Commission. 


6 

i 

5 

I            C 

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4 
4 

4 
4 

4...5 

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9 

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Hans  Hanson 
Noe  Mireau  .  , 
Andrew  Anderson 
Eric  Anderson 
Charles  Anderson 
Ole  Berglin 
Peter  Degerstroni 
w.  Edward  Edstrom 

Caroline  Erickson   

John  Erickson   

John  P.  Flood 

Daniel  J.  Forin 

Thomas  W.  Finn 

Oscar  Flood 

George  Gardner 

Hugh  Glenn  

w.  Anna  Goldahl 

Christ.  Hanson ! 

Hilda  Hawkinson   

w.  John  Hops I 

Eric  Johnson   j 

Albert  Johnson   i 

Andrew  Kaleen j 

Johanna  Kindlund I 

John  Koepi   .  .  , 
David  Lafebore 
Solomon  Lundb 
Harry  Madison 
Jennie  Madison 
w.  Christine  McElroy 
Mauritz  Mokato  . 
Gust  Nelson  . 
E.  P.  O'Sell  .... 

John  O'Neil 

Gust  Peterson  .  . . 
Dennis  Prenevost 
John  Robinson  . . 

John  Rand  

James  Steward  .  . 
Harvey  Staples  .  . 
Charles  Sjolander 
George  Wilkes  .  . 
Emil  Nelson  . 


i  . . . . 
I  .... 

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6|.... 


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i  . . . . 

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9(.... 

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I..-- 


Report  of  State  Commission. 


11 

XA.ME.                                                                               || 

-M®          £<B                              £ 

B  1  ^  f 

Swan  Johnson                                                           4 

i|      3l       '!      3 

3'                         7          -  - 

w.  Andrew  Hofflen     ....          .                    !       3 

C.  G.  Bergstrom  i 

I    .... 
I    .... 

6.... 

i  . 
ii  
6.... 

"         I 

Edward  Crepau  i 
w.  Mrs.  Maggie  Swanson  C 

Thomas  O'Xeil  .                                                      i 

w.  Christine  XTelson     3 

3 

4 

i 
i 
i 

.... 

"6 

5 

i 

.... 
.... 

80 

J::: 

i      b 
'"i       8 

2 

7  .... 

3!-.-. 

5!-... 

w.  Mrs.  Anna  X'yberg  !       4 

C.  A.  Carlson  j       6 
A.  J.  Johnson  j       6 

Thomas  Handlev  i 

w.  Mrs.  Johnson  1       i 

A  J  Johnson                                                          i 

Aaron  Anderson    9 

9 

2 

7 
3 

5 

418 

L  \V  Johnson                                                          2 

Andrew  Frederickson                                              7 

Samuel  Warman  3 
Patrick  Regan   5 

Totals                                                              4Q8 

420     78 

$1.00 

4!-... 
3!.... 

2  .... 

4  
....        I 

POKEGAMA. 
M  L  Sevmour                                                        4 

i 
3 

2 

4 

i 
i 

2 

6 
3 

i 
4 

5 

! 

3 

.... 

.... 

J.  C    Baty   .                                                                * 

W.  X.  Carver  2 

C.  F.  Collier  4 

Mrs.  L.  Calhoun  i 

Reuben  Osternick                                                     7 

6 

"10 

!!.'.' 



7-... 

2  

6.... 

2'"!! 
n|.... 
4.... 

W  W  Braman                                                          2 

A   Berg                                          .                          6 

w   Mrs.  Marv  Whitnev                     3 

\v  Robert  Barnes     .          2 

Joseph  Gonvea  n 

Samuel  Alisel                                                             4 

Charles  Smith                                                            5 

Thomas  Racine                                                       5 

\V  X  Thompson                     i 

Joe  Coblin                i 

i!.. 

j 

C.  W.  Kelsev  7 

•7k-.. 

61,..; 

6'.... 

*  .. 

7  .... 
6  

61.... 

Dr  C  A   Kelsev                                                    6 

Hans  Xelson                                                             6 

Charles  X.  Ward  .                                          .  .         ^ 

53 


Report  of  State  Commission. 


XAME.                                                                                2  "3 

KtS 

~  g 

«ji 

Joseph  Frame  7 
John  Johnson  4 

7 
4 

.... 

4'  .... 

Emil  Johnson                                                             i 

T 

I       i 

John  Powers       .                                                        i 

I 

i 

Frank  Littengarver  i 
Jake  Greenbcrg   i 
J.  L.  Boucher  T. 

I 

I 

•J 

i  .  .  .  . 
i  .... 

T. 

Joseph  Sipris                                                      !       2 

2 

2 

Israel  Rosenber0*                                               |       4 

A\ 

Abram  Chapman                                                       7 

I 

6 

7 

Gustav  Ellefson     j       i 

I 

?:::: 

David  Frame   i 

i 

Henry  Nelson   |       i 
H.  Shapiro   5 

.... 

i 

i  .... 

5" 

B.  Finer                                                                     4 

Mrs.  Raphael                                                           c 

i  *  '  *  * 

Totals    .                                                  .  .  1   i  -i  i 

IO^ 

?6 

120           2 

MISSION  CREEK. 
Axel  Halgren 
Oscar  A.  Pel 
John  Sexton 
John  Turner 
\v.  Peter  Nor 
S\ven  Swenson 
L.  G.  Johnson 
P.  H.  Nyberg 
Gust  Sandquist 
John  Berg  .... 
Peter  Bergman 
E.  S.  Wallace 
G.  D.  Edlund 
Frank  Sexton 
A.  G.  Mob  erg 
Charles  Johns 
Joseph  Sexton 
H.  S.  Rice 
Eric  Nelson 
Ed.  J.  Boyle 
J.  T.  Smullen 
John  De  Shaw 
Fred  Baudrau 


eterson  

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0 

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.  .  .  . 

n  . 

r  

2 

2 

2 

.  .  .  • 

rberg  .  . 

2 

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on  

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7 

i 
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rsr  . 

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uist   

J 

2 

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nan   

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ce  

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on  .  . 

.  .  .  . 

.  .  •  • 

rg  

I 

.... 

.... 

nson  

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ton   .  . 

.... 

•  •  •  • 

L    . 

A 

.  •  .  . 

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4 

0 

4 
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.... 

4 

•n  

6 

T 

f 

aw  

T 

T 

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.  .  .  . 

au   

T 

T 

T! 

Report  of  State  Commission. 


59 


Joseph  Boyle 

i 

i 

i 

G.  W   Hambleton 

i 

i 

C   A   Johnson 

4 

Frank  Kapinos                      

4 

,\ 

4 

Hans  H    Sie°"er 

6 

6 

6 

Adolph  Anderson   

4 

4 

4 

Carl  Ha°~elund 

6 

6 

6 

J   F   Walsten                                            

6 

2 

4 

6 

August  AI  vren                                           .      .  . 

i 

I 

i 

Amy  Armstron0"                                   

i 

I 

Totals  . 

7^ 

6q 

6 

67 

8 

SANDSTONE  JUNCTION  AND  MILLER. 


w  Louis  Alottorz                         

Paul  Flamstrom                             

\Villiani  Jacob                                   

Charles  Peterson                             

John  H   Samuelson                     

TT 

TT 

II  .  .  .  . 

John  Derosier                     

2 

2 

2  .  .  .  . 

(3    f   Johnson                       

T 

I 

I   

6 

6 

Gust  Alalm         

2 

2 

2  .  .  .  . 

4 

4 

41 

Peter   Chelman.                               

i 

jj 

IO 

IO 

IOJ  .  .  .  . 

i 

Peter  Bilado                                                  •  • 

6 

6 

6  .... 

w.  John  Westerlund  
John  Biorklund                          

i 

7 

i 

7 

.... 

7\  •'•'•'• 

4 

4 

4.... 

Sievert  Ha^lin                 

4 

i 

i|.... 

Totals     

60 

6q 

69I  

FINLAYSON. 

I 

i|.... 

i 

I 

7!    . 

3 

GO 


Report  of  State  Commission. 


.        -  »       c  « 

e^«     l« 
£"3      S,"3 

.-NAMK.                                                                                                                                C^            |2         ^g 

'"           ^5         &* 

Received 
relief. 

Received  no 
relief. 

H.  G.  Tyler   .          2\       2\  

2'  .  .  .  . 

John  L.  Cowing  ij        I  .  .  .  . 
John  Krebs  5!       c  .  .  .  . 

I  .... 

s  •  • 

William  Stoll                              •                            3       3  •  •  •  • 

•2'  . 

Fred  Kunzli    .  .            .                                           i        1  1  .  .  .  . 

I 

C.  W.  Harris  .  .          .               5'       5'.  .  .  . 

c  .  . 

E.  C.  Buel  i        i  

I|.  .  .  . 

George  Foley                                                            ^14 

Charles  Brown                                                           i         ij 

j  ' 

John  Wytenbach                                                    4'       4 

A.  G.  Crocker  3        3J  .  .  .  . 
Arne  Anderson   6        6| 

3-... 
6 

John   Greenlev                                                           ?        c." 

Charles  Willis                                                            i        i 

.... 

I 

James  Carman   7        7] 

Fred  Xelson  ....                                               4]       4 

Martin  Greenlev   7        7  .... 

Albert  G.  Cramer  i        i  .  .  .  . 

i 

w.  Anna  J.  Chenev  i  '       I 

j 

William  O'Connor   6|       i        5 

T         e 

w.  Anna  McCloud                                                    2'       2 

1         j 

Christian  Ramm  6'       61 

61 

Joe  A.  Carman  i        i 

u  .  .  .  . 

C.  A.  Crocker  .                                                       4       4 

4  •  •  •  . 

Totals    1     QJ.     8;       o 

8-           O 

PARTRIDGE. 
John  W.  Lvnch  \       2        2 

°^        y 

?\ 

Pat  Kane  j       i        l  \ 

T 

L.  G.  Johnson  6|       6| 

6 

John  Sopher  i       5        5 

61 

Dan  Bovington  \       2        2 

*> 

J.  W.  Alexander  ri       H 

z  .  .  .  . 

r- 

Tim  O'Xiel  6       6|" 

5  •  •  •  • 

Tames  Woodard  22 

•2\ 

Hogan  Hoganson  6        i  '  "  c 

6 

Gust  Tavlor  l        I 

U|  .  .  .  . 

w.  Nels  E.  Nelson  T|       I  '  ' 

Charles  Alexander  ....                                    '       T  !       i 

John  A.  Johnson  1       6|       6! 

< 

Reuben  Quarterman   3*1 

William  Williams   .                                                if" 

T 

Report  of  State  Commission. 


61 


NAME. 

11      1-8 
£2       ^  2 

s     fij 

|l 

|o 

4i  * 

Received 
relief. 

o 

c 

TSs-J 
>^ 

'5  g 

L.  Saunders 

ll      I 

I 

Henry  White 

2|         2 

2 

Hugh  McKenzie 

Si         5 

c 

John  Jackson 

2|          I 

2 

[ 

Totals 

sol     « 

6 

30 

20 

RUTLEDGE. 


Adolph  Schepstedt    

4 

i 

j         i[ 

•2 

John  Israelson   

i 

I 

....i         I. 

Emil  Larson    

Q 

o 

QJ. 

1               | 

Totals    . 

14- 

14 

..!     nl 

* 

MORA. 


Nels  Sjodin    

0 

Q 

John  Selin   

4. 

Gust  Carlson    

4. 

4. 

A 

Eric  Erickson    

? 

? 

7 

Nels  Sail 

Q 

Fred  Lebenthal   

4 

4 

4 

Henry  Lebenthal   

4 

1 

4 

W.  F.  Geddes  

•2 

T. 

P.  E.  Person 

I  l 

I  I 

1  1 

Andrew  Swenson 

I 

C.  W.  Whitney 

I 

I 

j 

Totals   

c.6 

cfi 

28 

28 

KERRICK. 

Andrew  Gillberg"  

-> 

2 

2 

• 

Gustav  Sandborg  

d 

A 

Swan  Lingren    

T 

I 

I 

Josephine  Peterson  

2 

2 

2 



Totals    . 

SCATTERING. 
Edw.  Hanson  ,  

I 

.... 

j 

William  Smith  

A 

I 

-j 

William  Holbrook 

r 

° 

r 

E.  W.  Fisk  .   . 

J 

j 

J 
j 

.... 

Eric  Sanberg  

2 

2 

2 

62 


Report  of  State  Commission. 


NAME. 


g 


1  ll 


Isaac  Toolson  .     .         .             .            ... 

i 

I 

I   .... 

Julius  Cooper  

I 

I 

I   .... 

Frank  Karas    

6 

6 

6  

Anton  Ludwig 

i 

i 

i  .... 

Stekl 

c 

i 

4 

c 

James  Byers 

c 

c 

c; 

Ed.  McLeocl 

I 

i 

I  .... 

C.  H.  Furman  
Andrew  Jackson    
H.  S.  Austin  

6 

9 
i 

9 

T 

6 

2 

6  .... 
9.... 

I          2 

William  Wisdom   
Melvin  Guptill 

6 

I 

5 
? 

....        6 
? 

James  J   Warner 

c 

e 

J.  B.  Butler 

8 

g 

T.  E.  Ryan  . 

7 

Louis  Sakovittz  ... 

7 

_ 

Ole  H.  Olson  

7 

7 

J 

Evan    Hanson   

I 

I 

i 

A.  E.  Rian  

I 

I 

i 

John  Young 

I 

j 

j 

A.  Webber 

? 

-? 

Ludwig  Olson 

w.  Mrs.  Mary  Norman  

I 

I 

i  .... 

Henry   Nelson 

-3 

-3 

2 

Alexander  Bee 

e 

5" 

e 

Mathey  Molner  

c 

e 

John  W.  Stafford  ... 

•? 

I 

2 

^ 

J.  A.  Tasker  

A 

4! 

Totals    . 

121 

86 

17 

67      =;6 

MILACA  COUNTY. 


Andrew  Johnson  

Q 

oi 

ol 

C.  L.  Anderson  

A\ 

VI-  •  •  • 

A\ 

Charles  Hoaglund   

IO 

10 

ro 

Peter  Anderson  

1\ 

?l 

Carl  Clausen   

Cj 

c 

e 

Gust  Lundberg  

A\ 

A! 

John  Lund  

C 

i,      |      .         .        .         . 

rl 

e 

Elias  Jackson   

6 

61 

6 

Olaf  Pierson  

7 

7| 

3 

w.  Matilda  Peterson   

7 

?j 

Peter  Erickson  .. 

7 

1\.   . 

7l 

Report  of  State  Commission. 


63 


NAME. 

=•8 
11 
*J 

$ 

§"S 
*  2 

^3 

Not  present 
time  of  tire. 

Up 

William  Johnson 

A 

A 

Gust  Sjostrom  

7 

7 

*7 

A.  Bostrum  

c 

Si.  . 

Herman   Xelson   

C 

c 

C   .  . 

August  Johnson    

3 

7 

7    .  . 

Frank    Bergstrom   

•J 

7 

7|  

Carl  K.  Carlson  

I 

T 

I    .. 

Gust  Kilburg   

4 

4 

4  .  .  .  . 

H.  C.  Darholt  

8 

8 

8|  

K.  C.  M  oland  

s. 

- 

5|.  . 

Xels  Johnson 

•j 

•i 

1 

Peter  Turnquist 

10 

IO 

10! 

John  Hakenson 

6 

6 

61 

E.  W.  Stromberg 

A 

A 

4l 

Peter  Hanson  . 

I 

I 

i! 

John   Wilkstrom 

IO 

IO 

IO 

Andrew   Holmquist           .  . 

r 

e 

el 

Charles  W.  Hedblad 

I 

I 

if 

John  B.  Heron  

7 

7 

7  .  . 

Peter  Johnson  

4 

4 

4     . 

Jacob  Salberg   

2 

2 

2      ... 

Tames  Udstrand  

I 

T 

I      ... 

F.  A.  Francine   
F.  Hendrickson  

3 

2 

3 

2 

3  .... 

2\  

John  Peterson 

/• 

4 

A.  D.  Crosby  .  . 

4 

Nicholas  Erickson 

6 

6 

6! 

Carl  Anderson     .  . 

Q 

Q 

Q! 

Andrew  A.  Wass   ... 

A 

2 

4-1 

L.  B.  Baxter  

2 

2 

2 

Andrew  Johnson  

T. 

7 

-2    .  . 

w.  Mrs.  C.  A.  Anderson  

4 

d 

4!.  . 

C.  O.  Stromb-urg  .   . 

? 

^ 

^ 

Carl   Johnson    

i 

i 

I 

Ole  Sundberg  

-7 

7 

7! 

Stephanus  Peterson  

C 

e 

5 

J.  G.  Eglund 

2 

2 

2 

James   Johnson 

6 

6 

61 

Mrs.  M.  J.  Bullis  

-j 

^ 

-? 

B.  E.  Larson  

T 

\ 

T 

B.  E.  Schedine  

6 

6 

61 

Frank    Haidluncl 

7 

7! 

Nels  Hanson  .. 

2 

2 

.  ,1 

2  .  . 

64 


Report  of  State    Commission. 


e£       * 


NAME 


|1    P 


A.  P.  Johnson 
Lars  Larson  . 
John  Lindman 
John  Daline  .  . 
Andrew  Sand  . 
Andrew  K.  Wass 
Charles  Wigman 
Carl  Turnquist 
P.  A.  Lekburg 
Alfred  Sandstrom 
Charles  Xord 
Lars  Lode  .  . . 
Ben  Jacobson 
Ole  Anderson 
Peter  Olson  .  . 
Eric  Blomberg 
N.  P.  Anderson 
Herman  Carlson 
Charles  Erickson 
P.  AI.  Lindbe 
John  M.  And( 
XTels  Orevson 
Oscar  Osborner 
A.  P.  Olson 
Charles  Palmquist 
Alfred  Ahlquist 
John  Erickson 

j ohn  Enghold   \       i\ 

Henry  Berg j       5) 

Olaf  Peterson  j       i| 

August  Blomberg   |       7 

Gust  Pearson    I 

G.  A.  Arnely |       5 

C.  E.  Newberg |       4 

Samuel  Nelson |       i 

Totals |  370) 


I 

I 

I1.... 

....         8 

8 

8  

i  .                                                     7 

3 

T. 

T.   .  . 

4" 

A 

A\ 

ass                                                      3 

? 

3! 

an    |       3 

:  3 
1       i 

3 

3 
i 

. 

3  .  ... 
3  .... 
ii.  .    . 

om   !       4 

4 

4"  .... 

2 

2 

2 

1          i 

I 

l| 

!          I 

I 

I 

7 

7 

.  .    .  .                           .                 6 

6 

6 

6 

1   c 

6 

e 

6  .... 

:>n  3 

7 

^ 

on                                                      6 

6 

6 

Of                                                                                                                     C 

e 

son  .  .                                        '4 

I 

i 

I 

r  I 

i 

I       .  . 

1        j 

nist                                                     ^ 

*   c 

el 

t  .  .                                                6 

6 

6 

10 

TO 

TO  .  . 

Nettie  Ameson  .... 

Louis  Amans   

Alexander  Bolanger 
Benjamin  Beck  .  . . . 


CARLTOX  COUNTY. 


Report  of  State  Commission. 


(55 


~      S2      =  £     -c        § 

^             "*«           fc«          *.J          _.  • 

i-S     c-    |«    >«    «» 

s6  s        S  °       a°       ®~       >-~ 
NAME.                                                                                5-5       g  „       "0      g£      -|g 

~        £J       ||       i             £ 

Frank  Buschert   ....                  

1 

3 
9 
i 

i 
i 
i 
4 
* 
i 

II 

4 

5 
3 
9 

i 

i 
i 
i 
4 

2 
I 

.... 

4 

"9 

4 

I 
I 

3 

2 

4 

3 
9 

5 
i 

3 

2 
C.T. 

William  Cool   

Edward  P.  Duffv  

Oscar  Dotten 

Amasa  Dotton   
Barbara  Ehr  
George  Flaugher     



i 
i 
i 

i 

i 

August  Johnson 

Anton  Johnson 

John  Ivaiander 

Joseph  Lavallee 

Alexander  La  Blanc     

John  Lindquist  

3 

2 

A 

3 

2 

A 

w.  Louis  Lundgrcn  

Charles  Morse 

John  Miller  

7 

2 

3 
9 

5 

2 

4 

5 
9 
i 

4 
4 

2 

5 

7 

2 

3 
9 

5 
i 

4 
5 
9 

i 

4 
4 

2 

5 

7 

2 

Peter  Morrison 

Aldrich  Mattinen 

Horace  Paine 

Herman  Skart   

E.  Terrien   

i 

.... 

i 

\ 

4 
i 

.... 

W.  T.  Wright  

George  Wright  

Isaac  Walli 

w.  Woodbury  Whitten 

\Villiam  Holm 

w.  D.  Trepannier  

John  Stave    
L.  B.  Sawver  

Totals  .. 

I2*\    122 

OTTER  TAIL  COUNTY. 


Charles   Olgreen 

7 

7 

7 

John  Wullolle 

7 

I 

' 

M.  Mattson               .                

c 

c 

c 

James  Johnson  

A 

j 

J 

H   Haatafa 

I  J 

H    Tannv 

2 

2 

2 

M.  Ekonon 

2 

2 

2 

F.  Paavola                               

6 

6 

6 

H.  Lehtiner  
I.  Lindstrom  . 

6 

6 

2 

.... 

'.  . 

6 
2 

Report  of  State  Commission. 


NAME 


o,i      3J 


18      gS 


W.  Pickett I  4       4| 4| 

Unnamed  family |  3  3  •  •  •  •        3!  •  •  •  • 

Unnamed  family |  3  3  •  •  •  •        3l  •  •  •  • 

Unnamed  family    j  3  3  •  •  •  •        3l  •  •  •  • 

w.  Mrs.  Johanna  Nelson |  2  2\.  . .  .        2\.  . .  . 

H.  Henderson   8        8j 8| 

C.  G.  Granstrom j  6j       6| j       6 

P.  Berglov |  8       8| |       8 

Totals 89!     89'] 75|     14 

MORRISON  COUNTY. 

w.  Mr.  Hasch  i  1 1 .  . .  .  |        1 1 .  . .  . 

Mr.  Martin    2  2\ .  .  .  .  \       2\.  . .  . 

E.  Weedmark  3  3  •  •  •  •        3  •  •  •  • 

H.  Durenland   6  6| .  .  .  .        6  .... 

Hans  Isaacson   7  7! .  .  .  .        7  .... 

F.  Granstrom   4  4| . . . .        4  .... 

G.  Nelson   7  7! .  . .  .        7J  •  •  •  • 

A.  Granstrom   4  4  . . . .        4J  •  •  •  • 

Andrew  Mulcnander 5!  5J •  •  •  •         5l •  •  •  • 

R.  Pettis 7        7J j       7! 

— I 1 i ! 

Totals 46]     46|....|     46) 

WAD  EN  A  COUNTY. 

W.  H.  Gaines 9]  9] ....        9  .... 

w.  Abigael  Feilder 2\  2\.  . .  .        2  .  . . . 

J.  C.  Peterson 6|       6j 6 

Russell  Witheral  .  . |  2\       2\ 2 

George  Witheral   |  7]  7] ....        7 

Carl  Worm |  7]  7) ....  I 

Henry  Henrickson    3  3  . . . . 

! i i 

Totals    36     36] |     36J 

AITKIX  COUNTY. 

Knute  Engstrom   5]  5) ....  | .... |       5 

Gust  Williamson ^j  5!                         5 

Chris  Opgaard , ,"  o|  61 '  '.  '.'.  \ '.'. '.'.  \       6 

Joe  Johnson 77  i 

T1T  O\  Oi"**'''''*|              O 

John  Larson   2|  2J....L...         2 

Charles  Johnson 4]  4) ....  1 .               4 


Keport  of  State  Commission. 


67 


NAME. 


E.  Johnson  .... 
A.  Halberg  .... 
Christ  Knutson  ., 

Ole  Barge 

Hans  Peterson  .. 
G.  O.  Brown  .. .  . 
Frank  Rathbtirn 


Totals 


t         «< 

§•3  £< 


f*  g>«H  -=.« 


CASS  COUNTY. 


O.  W.  Caldvvell 

w.  Hattie  V.  Sims  . .  . 
w.  Rosa  A.  Bennett  .. 


fca 

fij 

II 

«" 

4 

1 

4 
4 

.... 

5 

c 

5 
c 

6 

6 

-7 

0 

55]     55! . 


4 
4 

4 
5 

6 

2 

55 


Totals   |     13)     13!-... 


'•y 


-J* 


i 


SD 


^ 

y  \  •' 


V 

'.',' 


%-i-tfm?f*n       w* 


